While it's too soon to say what role YouTube played in the suspect turning himself in, kudos to the Hamilton PD for thinking of posting the video. Even if not directly responsible for the suspect turning himself in, it certainly helped turn up the heat.
The news report mentions 17,000 views when the suspect turned himself in. As of right now, the video has 30,000 views.
Suspect in YouTube video surrenders to police
Police uploaded the video clip to YouTube in early December, hoping it would draw out witnesses. Since the time it was uploaded, the video was reportedly viewed online about 17,000 times.
Posting security video online was considered a first for a Canadian police force. Hamilton police said it was the first time they had tried something like this during an active investigation.
Investigators believed the jumpy video of people at a concert would get wide exposure among the age group of people who attended the Nov. 16 show at Hamilton's Club Seventy Seven.
Link to the Hamilton Police YouTube Video
It should be interesting to see if other police forces in Canada begin emulating this. I don't see why they wouldn't. It's available 24 hours a day, easy to distribute/duplicate and best of all - it's free.Cross-posted from BBS
