Google photo map service catches robbers of Dutch teenager
Last updated 22/06/2009 10:22:36
Google photo map service catches robbers of Dutch teenager
Optimist World isn't alone in making a positive difference online. The Google photo map service has been praised after helping catch Dutch twin brothers who mugged a teenager.
Police say the brothers were arrested in the northern town of Groningen after being caught on camera by a car gathering images last September.
The pair stole the 14-year-old boy's mobile phone and 165 euros in cash. It wasn't until March that the victim, incredibly, recognised himself and the two robbers while surfing Google Maps.
It offers a street view, enabling users to see images of buildings, usually taken by a camera mounted on a car. Following an investigation by Dutch police, one of the 24-year-old twins confessed to robbing the boy.
"The picture was taken just a moment before the crime," a police spokesman explained.
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