German police enlist mobile phone users to transmit tips
Defending his decision, Schily says the "speedy and direct involvement of citizens enables new forms of cooperation between police and the population." He says that because German law allows for public searches only in cases of "heavy criminal offenses," the police will send out SMS searches only in such cases.
Should the snooping service establish itself as a regular feature in police work throughout the country, a next step could be the use of camera phones so citizen volunteers can receive mug shots. Photos carry more data than SMS messages, which typically are limited to 160 characters. Is it too Orwellian to imagine a volunteer receiving a mug shot of himself?
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