That's great that the police think that the police should be the ones who decide what gets published and what doesn't. That works really well for Kim Jong Il. I personally believe that the "Freedom of the Press" gets abused at times but it concerns me more that un-elected civic officials would attempt to curb this freedom.

"Sgt. Curran suggested that local law enforcement should be the ones to decide whether a video is published or not. People who own security cameras should give the video to police, without posting them up themselves, according to Curran." Oh ya, this seems like an awesome idea. lets give the police control over what videos we release of crimes... the entire criminal justice system is designed to be as transparent as possible for a reason. To prevent abuse of power..

How is this a story with any kind of meaning or even an ending? Did the thieves get away? No it's really too early to tell. Police just want to be in control. They don't like it when you ask for help and then don't act like you're helpless. I say do what you think will help. Don't wait for someone else who has no invested interest to help you.

This is just plain dumb. I guess they tell the local news that they can not report any crimes because it could taint the jury as well. News papers are also out. No one should ever be allowed to see video of a crime and judge for themselves what they see. The police or judge should instead be the ones why tell you what to think.

I think you guys are missing the point. Imagine that the posted video actually fingers the thieves, but only after some posted comment on the video says "Hey, I know who that is, that's Joe Bike Thief." But the police and prosecution don't find out who posted the comment and don't cal him to the stand to testify. So the defense uses that ALONE to create doubt, and the thief is not convicted.

The police didn't say you cannot post, they said you should check with them first, because if your video doesn't help the case, and might hurt it. I would be pissed off if someone's posting on the Internet let my criminal escape, and here all you have is someone who wanted the next home video put up, not working toward finding the person.

Well that's typical cop mentality. I for one will not have the police tell me what I can and cannot publish with my OWN video. Besides I do not see how this hurts. I see store video camera footage of robberies, beat downs, and even gun shootings about every night on the news. There is no real differance. If it's a store cam or a home cam catching criminals in the act; how can one hurt and the other not? It does not. Cause if it did you would not see as many on the news. But oh if you do the same thing with a web cam and post it to You Tube or where ever all of a sudden its differant? See what happens? A neighbor tries to help and for his trouble he gets critisized, and the police sit there and wonder why they have a hard time getting the community to talk to them.

I agree 100% with ntkeith. Nobody here has posted that it is their job everyday to catch criminals. Anybody here a cop? No? Ok. Let the people with the experience decide what to do with the video. You can post it if you want, but it may hurt your neighbors case, and he knows where you live. Plus the title of the article is kind of misleading.

In further news local police have called for an end to local newspaper and television coverage of crime. "All this new fangled crime reporting is peeing in the pool of juries," reports Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane of Hazzard County. Further he adds, "Get'em Flash!"

Most of you have no idea why the police control information pertaining to a crime. I'll give a very simple example. I arrest Jon Doe for the burglary and tell him I have video proving he is guilty. Jon Doe, having already seen the video knows its difficult to see his face and so keeps his lips sealed rather than confessing in hopes of receiving a lesser sentence.
This isn't about keeping news from the public for the sake of control, it's keeping news from the criminal on how weak or strong your case against him really is. Allowing the police time to work the evidence before it's released to the public can be the difference between the perp going on the run, or sitting oblivious to the net tightening around him.

That isn't a bad idea, police aren't being over controlling, the idea is protective. I recorded something simply annoying once and posted...and found a stabbed tire on my automobile. The net is not anonymous, it is the quiet lurking place for every jackass who wants control criminally. I am giving my vids to the police next time, and it BETTER be taken seriously.the other thought not all police like sgt curran think about- taking the integrity of the vid for what it is without question is another problem.

That isn't a bad idea, police aren't being over controlling, the idea is protective. I recorded something simply annoying once and posted...and found a stabbed tire on my automobile. The net is not anonymous, it is the quiet lurking place for every jackass who wants control criminally. I am giving my vids to the police next time, and it BETTER be taken seriously.the other thought not all police like sgt curran think about- taking the integrity of the vid for what it is without question is another problem.

To all the negative posts about the police here.
A. They aren't making it illegal, they are suggesting that they decide if evidence gets posted or not.

B. They are suggesting this because it is the best measure to make the evidence admissible. How stink would you feel if you had damning evidence against someone, but posted it online. And then the defense got the evidence thrown out because of that?

The cop that commented is an idiot. There is already a supreme court precendent set. It really is sad how little cops know of the law that they're supposed to enforce.

In United States v. Mietus, 237 F3d 866, 870 (7th Cir 2001), the judge ruled that a case being reported on does NOT influence the bias of the jury pool.

The cop is just mad because someone keeps filming him leaving his squad car running in front of a hydrant while he runs in for a doughnut.