WTHR |Metro police hope YouTube can help solve crimes

Metro police hope YouTube can help solve crimes

Indianapolis - Metro police hope You can help them solve more crimes using an internet favorite, YouTube. It's the latest trend for police departments across the country.

You can find The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on one of the internet's most popular websites.

Investigators hope to get you involved in solving crimes by going to their site. They're already tracking the number of hits they're getting.

"The last one we put out I think it had over 2,000 hits within the first three or four days," said Lt. Jeff Duhamell, IMPD.

IMPD created a YouTube account on January 16th of this year, calling its page Indy Unsolved. On their page, you can see video from crimes, like the surveillance video from the English Avenue Village pantry robbery on December 23rd. The suspect is caught on tape pulling a gun on the cashier.

Robbery detectives show his face up close and they hope you recognize him. You'll soon see a lot more videos like that one from the police department.

"We are going to start a top ten showing crimes and suspects wanted in the city," said Lt. Duhamell.

The Milwaukee Police Department was one of the first departments nationwide to turn to YouTube in their fight against crime. Investigators show Milwaukee's top ten most wanted, and it's working.

The best part of using YouTube is that it costs nothing for police departments but allows them to reach a broader audience. Page set-up is easy and page maintenance requires minimal time.

This is just the beginning of Indy Unsolved. Metro police are already working on ways to expand their presence on the web.

Police say the most important benefit of Indy Unsolved is the anonymous call-ins to Crime Stoppers. You don't have to give your name to earn cash rewards up to $1,000.