Of Vines and Crimes

Prefer to get your crime news in tiny, six-second sound bites? Or, like to capture video snippets of yourself breaking the law? Well, either way, Vine is definitely for you, then.

Even though it’s incredibly stupid to film yourself committing a crime, people do it anyway. Like the woman you’ve probably already seen running onto the field at the college world series. She paid $1500 for the privilege, and for her 15 minutes of fame.

But, hey, in the modern media age, 15 minutes is practically an eternity. Right?

Actually, hers was probably one of the more interesting crime Vines out there that I could find, despite its inherent vanity and inaneness. At least it tells a story, as opposed to most Vines that rapidly descend into chaotic, seizure-inducing jump cuts.

Predictably, Vines have also captured more serious offenses, such as an alleged rape in Chicago that’s still under investigation. Whoever filmed it should absolutely have intervened instead, of course, but at least there’s some evidence for the police to use in their investigation.

What follows, though, are some of the Vines I was able to find that had to do with crime, public safety, or something related. Some are NSFW due to language, but otherwise are pretty tame.

Enjoy!

Friday Crime Vids – Keeping Up with Crime

Melvin Kranzberg, a noted scholar of technology’s impact on society, wrote that technology is neither good nor bad, nor is it neutral.  Nowhere is that nuanced perspective more apparent than in its application to technology and crime.

Neutral or not, technology does facilitate unexpected forms of antisocial and criminal deviance.

Image courtesy of hyena reality FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Before motorized vehicles came along, there was no such thing as a hit and run, a getaway car, or a DWI.  Until the telephone, no one ever called in a bomb threat or made an obscene phone call.  And, until cameras were widely available, no one created or distributed child pornography.

As a result, the legal system often flounders in the wake of technological development, both in terms of creating updated legal frameworks and the passing of specific statutes to curb formerly unknown criminal behaviors.

This week’s vid features a Ted Talk by Marc Goodman, a futurist who studies the connections between yet unrealized technologies and crime. Whether you agree or disagree with his ideas, it’s pretty fascinating stuff. It highlights the connections between people and technology, instead of strictly focusing on the gadgets themselves.

Kranzberg stressed that technology is a human activity. If we’re to have any hope of keeping up with exponential social change that’s driven by new technology, we need to start considering these concepts and approaches right now, even before some of these technologies come to fruition.

So, click, kick back, and enjoy!

Marc Goodman’s Ted Talk on the Future of Crime

Have a wonderful weekend.

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