The city where every arrest gets Twittered
For a short time, it seemed as if the Denton Police Department outside Dallas had been inspired by great communicators such as Ashton Kutcher and CNN.
A Twitter page, headlined "Denton Police," fed details of every arrest the department had performed, coupled with TwitPic mugshots.
This remarkable, real-time communication between the police and outside world surely was a futuristic forerunner to Texas' progression towards secession.
Until it was revealed to be the work of University of North Texas senior, Brian Baugh.
Mr. Baugh studies photography and is clearly fascinated by the plethora of things that can be seen online. One of them is the Denton City Jail Custody Report, which Mr. Baugh happily transposed to the unofficial Denton Police Twitter page.
"I just thought it would be a thing between me and my friends," he told the Dallas Observer.
Perhaps you might be thinking that he is to be awarded a commendation from the Denton Police for his ingenuity. And perhaps you might be thinking that all humans should have three feet, two noses, and hair made of recyclable plastic.
Yes, the Denton city attorneys are trying to get the feed shut down, which seems a little peculiar as it isn't as if Mr. Baugh is tweeting anything other than perfectly public information.
"The only way they might shut it down is if they wanted to use the account for themselves," he sagely declared.
But would they use it well?
You see, the Denton police has a MySpace page. It could, perhaps, be this one. However, according to Denton police spokesperson, Ryan Grelle: "It hasn't been updated for months."
Chris Matyszczyk is an award-winning creative director who advises major corporations on content creation and marketing. He brings an irreverent, sarcastic, and sometimes ironic voice to the tech world. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. 
Bringing someone in who gets a speeding ticket and forgets their drivers license is no need to publicly humiliate them.
So if the Denton PD wrongfully arrests you, would you mind being twtterred? Then during trial would you like your jury picked out by a pool of people who have seen the post and are already tainted? Would you mind being labeled a dirtbag then?
Think before you speak, dude.
Being arrested for a speeding ticket and not having your license with you...what kind of stupid example is that...doesn't happen unless the person who's receiving this ticket does something stupid after the fact to get themselves arrested.
As far as juveniles having their photos posted...doesn't happen. It's against the law. Juveniles are protected.
And what about marijuana possession makes it not a CRIME...sorry but the last time I checked, marijuana is ILLEGAL!!!
It seems to me we have a lot of people here who are talking about this being unfair. I agree people are innocent until proven guilty, but common people take responsibility for your mistakes and stop making excuses.
I'm tired of people complaining that because it's not "Murder" or "Rape" it isn't a big deal. A crime is a crime. Some obviously worse than others, but none the less they are crimes.
Are you kidding me. What pathetic attempts to to derail my argument. LOL at forgetting the drivers license, nice try. If you look at most of the crimes being twittered, they are mostly nothing major, like murder or rape. So its not like there will be a long investigation to prove they are guilty. They are! I don't understand those who try to back up those who break the law. A crime is a crime no matter how minor or foolish (like forgetting a drivers license). No one is above the law, and if you break it, I believe it is my right to know that way I can protect my family. So you guys can pull out the liberal card and say they might have been wrongly arrested and they are innocent until proven guilty. Whatever, I am sure a cop knows when someone was drunk and if someone had made a traffic violation. I don't see how they could have not been wrongly arrested for such crimes.
BS
I have seen it happen with absolutely no cause.
The cops are thugs.
So you can protect your family against someone who forgot their license?
Get a life dude, if they are so minor you don't need to protect your family. Everyone makes mistakes, there is absolutely no reason to have it shoved in your face, only that person can absolve himself. 9 out of 10 times, the person already feels like a d-bag for what happened. So drop the smug attitude.
You definitely make a valid point. But I still feel regardless of how you were raised or what kind of environment you grew up in, we ALL have to make choices. There are a lot of people who have struggled with adversity in their lives that decided to make good choices and not fall prey to their environments. If you decide to make a bad choice and get caught, take responsibility for actions and make no excuses.
(Not saying you are, just responding the the post)
That really is an ignorant comment. It's like saying everyone who lives in the hood are criminals, which couldn't be further from the truth. Most people who grow up in our rough neighborhoods are good people trying to live an honest life. It's always a small percentage of people who make their culture look bad. Don't judge all cops based on the minimal experience you have had or heard about. Most people don't understand the methods cops use in their daily duties and I understand why. Just remember that cops routinely run into situations most people run away from. They put their LIVES at risk to protect us!! Sure there are "immoral thugs" patrolling our streets, but I guarantee most of them are good people trying to make a difference. Until you have lived in one's shoes, don't judge.
You sir are an idiot. Thanks for contributing your retarded comment to this discussion.
And let's look at this another way. Not the way all of you seem to be looking at it, the "They do/don't deserve to have this done", not the impact on that single person who caused the crime. Take a look at the effect it will have on other people. This is the modern day, much more civilised version of putting someone in the stocks, having them humiliated. This will discourage more people from committing these crimes, due to the EXTREMELY public nature of the humiliation to follow. I say it's a damn good idea!
- by zepol22 April 22, 2009 2:59 PM PDT
- @devildog
- Reply to this comment
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(26 Comments)You must feel pretty important to come to this page and fill it with your liberal nonsense. Life isn't meant to always work out in the ways we wish it would. This article talks about using technology in order to hopefully bring crime down. People will not want their picture up on the internet and therefore they will be less likely to break the law. It is that simple. So before you start to cry and say it's not fair because it will humiliate people; why don't you just keep the liberal talk out of this. You make a mistake, no matter how minor, you get to pay the consequence. If I were to make a mistake I would understand the punishment. Also, by humiliating the people on this feed, I can bet they will think twice about speeding or doing any other type of crime.
"Slinging insults will only be matched with the same treatment."
Unlike you, I can take the "treatment" and not cry about it. You fail.