Perps Catch Themselves on Candid Camera

Criminals may want to think twice the next time they feel like snapping photos of their exploits: authorities nationwide are using the indecent exposures as evidence against them, the Wall Street Journal reports. “We pray for those kinds of cases,” said an assistant state attorney, while a small-town prosecutor estimated phone cameras supply evidence 40-50 times a year.

A professor explained the phenomenon: “If you give someone a camera phone, it's an inviolable rule of nature that they will take a picture with it." Some perps even post their pics online, but hiccups like search warrants and missing chargers can hamper use of cellphone evidence. Still, crime experts praise the technology, much to the chagrin of defense attorneys. (More criminal stories.)