Internet Community Catches a Car Thief 169
COredneck sends us a NYTimes story (registration may be required) about an Internet community solving a crime in less than 48 hours. An auto dealer in Calgary lends a car for a test drive — a 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R. The test driver and another person don't return the car. The dealer then files a police report, but also posts a message about the stolen car on Beyond.ca, an automotive fan board. Many people who read the board keep their eyes out and find the car. They also use Facebook to find the suspect and his high school; and they use Google Maps to pinpoint the thief's location. They film the collar and post the video on Beyond.ca. The dealer says, "This guy has worldwide recognition for being a car thief for the rest of his life. The Internet is not going away."
Wrong guy... (Score:0, Insightful)
Yeah for this example at least (Score:5, Insightful)
If it was something like a Honda Accord then they never would have found it this way.
Good that the guy was caught... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:headline in 5 years: (Score:5, Insightful)
I see nothing at all wrong with this. The cops can then determine if a crime was committed, and guess what? If not, they can arrest the "vigilantes" for filing a false report.
(Now if they d actually tried to hold the person *himself* then I'd have a problem with that. That's when you get into the realm of false imprisonment and civil rights violations.
Re:Wrong guy... (Score:0, Insightful)
poor dealer practice (Score:3, Insightful)
Second, why are they letting someone go for a test drive unaccompanied by someone from the dealership, someone they don't personally know?
This should not have happened in the first place. I can't say I would have felt sorry for them had it not gone this well. It does not set a good example to show how you can be stupid and get away with it due to the marvels of modern technology.
I personally hope their lot insurance rates go through the roof for a year over this. Roundabouts, it's people doing stupid things like this and NOT getting lucky that result in MY rates going up to spread the loss coverage.
Show the stalkers how to do it (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Yeah for this example at least (Score:3, Insightful)
Not to mention that any skyline that old in the US is right hand drive and had a lot of effort put into it just to get it over here. Which leads to the question of why a dealership would lend out such a car to a high school kid.
Re:headline in 5 years: (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Good that the guy was caught... (Score:5, Insightful)
Vigilantism would be if upon finding out where the car is, an angry mob descended, beat the crap out of the guy, and then took the car back.
There's quite a difference between vigilantism and what happened in this case.
Ok, thieves don't deserve any privacy... (Score:5, Insightful)
What about the rest of us? If somebody posts my car's pictures online and asks people to help them find me, the same tricks will work. It will be even quicker, because I will not even be expecting any sort of pursuit...
When police try to use these methods, we are full of "big brother" gloom. When "the mob" does it, we are cheering...
Re:Good that the guy was caught... (Score:2, Insightful)
Steal a car = death penalty
Perhaps being stupid online should carry, not the death penalty perhaps(it is a lesser crime), but perhaps the penalty of having your index fingers severed so you can't spew your mental diarrhea for everyone else to deal with?
Of course, being a minor, oh Anonymous Troll that you are, you'd be spared that penalty.
Re:Poor guy (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't think the above issue (in general) can be understated. There isn't a person alive who hasn't once done something that is embarrasing, in bad form, wrong, or even illegal, or otherwise said or wrote something that wasn't poorly worded, taken out of context, intended as an off-colour joke, or simply a case of temporary stupidity.
Why is this a big deal? Now the average person is subjected to the same level of scrutiny given to, for example, a candidate running for political office. Dunno about you, but my family and friends tend to be forgiving of my failings and shortcomings, but I sure don't want a million random strangers participating in the dissemination of information that is then recursively subjected to the judgment or actions of another million random strangers, with a prospective employer or someone similar thrown in for added fun. And that's assuming we're talking about disinterested parties and not angry ex-girlfriends, wives, schoolmates you teased, or hookers you didn't sufficiently tip.
When talking about "folks on the internet", we're mostly talking about mobs and mob mentality. In this case it seems the mob was right, so we're free to cheer for its leaders and the outcome.
Re:Poor guy (Score:3, Insightful)
Alternative interpretation:
"So this person who has proven that he does not care about the property rights of others (at a minimum!) is identified so it will be more difficult for him to rip off more people in the future."
Re:Good that the guy was caught... (Score:4, Insightful)
A group took it upon them selves, to investigate and take measures to assist in the identification and apprehension of the thief and recovery of stolen property. The action they took to me is a form of vigilantism. I wouldn't say they violated due process, though if they had boxed in the wrong car I'm sure they would have to answer for their actions in one way or another.
Re:Good that the guy was caught... (Score:3, Insightful)
As someone else pointed out, a vigilante [wikipedia.org] is someone who ENFORCES their own JUSTICE. Just holding someone (or clearly stolen property) for the police to handle isn't vigilantism.
Batman is a vigilante because he doesn't just catch the crooks, he dishes out his own punishment, without following due process of the law.
Re:Good that the guy was caught... (Score:3, Insightful)
The thing is that "the authorities response" is always going to be inadequate from the point of view of someone who has just seen thousands of their own money getting nicked; the police can't and won't drop everything to get your livelihood back. And believe me, when some fucking chav steals from you it becomes personal. As I see the law (I'm British, but it seems pretty much the same in most places) you have the right to defend yourself - you have to obey the law while doing so, but there is no requirement to wait on the police.
That said it is normally prudent to do so - this case could have become a tragedy if the thief had pulled a gun.
Re:Wrong guy... (Score:3, Insightful)
In this case it may be the case that the guy they caught was guilty, but as you rightly point out, there are a number of things that can happen hat could cause these internet schmucks to get the wrong guy under many circumstances.
The false positive rate would be high. It is often said that 100 free guilty men is better than 1 incarcerated innocent man. With this system of "mob sourced" justice, you'd likely end up with 1 condemned innocent for every 10 guilty parties. Using vigilantism to social problems is like using a backhoe to remove a brain tumour; it's just not clean or accurate enough.