Berlin
Germany is launching a nationwide program that will turn ordinary citizens into law-enforcement tipsters. Germans can volunteer to use their cell phones to get text messages from the police about criminals on the loose in their area. Police said a sample message could read: “Bank robbery, two men in their 30s, jeans, black jackets, fleeing in brown BMW with Dortmund plates.” Users would be instructed where to call if they spotted the wanted men. The system proved popular in the districts that tested it last fall.
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