The Royal Canadian Mounted Police want to live up to their reputation of
always getting their man or woman. But like many crime fighters these days, they
could use the Net鈥檚 help. When an 18-month-old baby survived a 70-metre fall off
Vancouver鈥檚 Capilano Suspension bridge last month, the Mounties posted tourist
photos of the bridge just before the baby fell at
http://north-van.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/9931366.htm and are asking people to come
forward with information about how it happened.
Many US cities nowadays have neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood accounts of
crime statistics鈥攖ry www.crime.org/links_city.html. Washington DC has
slipped from the number one spot for per-capita violent crime, but it still
ranks in the country鈥檚 top ten. Crime Stoppers International, at www.c-s-i.org,
lists a few crimes you may be able to help solve.
The US National Crime Prevention Council鈥檚 Online Resource Center at
www.ncpc.org wants to help people 鈥減revent crime and build safer, stronger
communities鈥�. It has a very useful article on safety tips for runners and
walkers, including a tip not to wear headphones. This is one that鈥檚 ignored by
millions of joggers, but the NCPC says it鈥檚 a big risk since you might not hear
a potential attacker approaching. At the unwieldy URL
www.met.police.uk/police/mps/mps/bumbleb/bumble1.htm,
London鈥檚 Metropolitan Police
anti-burglary initiative, Operation Bumblebee, has a website where you can look
for the missing family heirlooms or find out how to stop them being stolen in
the first place.
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At the slightly ghoulish special interest crime site www.apbnews.com, you
can eavesdrop on American police conversations. The site even gives you a handy
little translation guide, too: in cop talk, 鈥渃ode 37鈥� is a stolen vehicle while
鈥渓ucky 7鈥� means 鈥渕eet you at the donut shop鈥�. Netropolitan bets there鈥檚 no
police code for 鈥渕eet you at the health food store鈥濃�攖hey probably think a
juice bar is a gas station.
