Google Solves Another Crime

Google's (GOOG) don't-be-evil motto gets another boost today, courtesy of its "street view" service. Last September, a young Dutch teenager was toodling down the street on his bike when two men grabbed him, acquainted him with the cobblestones, and relieved him of the bike, his cell phone, and some $250 in cash. The boy got ahold of the police, but the men were long gone, seemingly scot-free.

Ah, but then Google stepped in. According to CNet, the boy was scanning "street view," looking at the scene of the crime, when he realized that a Google camera car had driven by moments before the mugging. And, sure enough, the car snapped pics of the two perps. Their faces were blurred beyond recognition, but a quick call from the police got Google to depixilate the image, and the robbery squad recognized the men as a pair of twin brothers. The two malfeasants have since been arrested; one has been released, but the other is in the clink until he can finish paying a fine for a previous offense.

Honestly, Google's been on a roll lately when it comes to the virtue front. First cops in Massachusetts used Street View to track down a kidnapped child; then the company added Farsi to its list of translatable languages, so the international community could better keep track of events in Iran. Now, if only they can do something about all that Chinese pornography ...