Coming soon: a horror story on American Fritzl’s victim?

London, Sept 20 (ANI): Publishers and Hollywood studios have begun a multi-million dollar bidding war for the rights to sex slave Jaycee Dugard’s horrifying life story.

Fresh details of the American Fritzl’s victim have emerged, including that in the early days of her captivity, the terrified schoolgirl was so hungry she ate bugs and worms in the rambling back garden where she was held in tents and lock-up sheds, reports The Daily Express.

She had to use a garden hose to shower outside, even in winters, say detectives guarding her and her two daughters, fathered by kidnapper Phillip Garrido.

However, the public apparently is desperate for the full story of how Jaycee, now 29, survived after being snatched on her way to a school bus stop when she was only 11.

A New York literary agent, who estimates the book and film rights to be worth up to 12million dollars, said: “You couldn’t dream up a script like this. Americans can’t wait to hear the story from the girl who lived it.”

A Hollywood studio producer said: “Everyone is in the market for this story. Poor Jaycee’s life may have been hell for 18 years but she’ll never want for anything for the rest of it.”

Garrido, a registered sex offender, has been linked to six child abductions and murders stretching back years within a 400-mile radius of the ramshackle home in Antioch, California, where Jaycee was held. (ANI)

‘American Fritzl’ Garrido’s arrest was led by women’s intuition, say cops

London, August 30 (ANI): The two policewomen who finally arrested ‘American Fritzl’ Phillip Garrido, for holding a girl as sex slave with his wife Nancy for 18 years, have revealed that their suspicions were raised by “women’s intuition”.

Ally Jacobs and Lisa Campbell said that they became suspicious after being approached by Garrido at the University Of California, to seek permission to hold a religious event there.

They revealed that accompanying Garrido were two “robotic” little girls he fathered with his victim Jaycee Lee Dugard.

Ally recalled that the girls were pale, as if starved of light, and extremely submissive.

What particularly disturbed her was the way the girls dressed and acted, said the cop.

“I can best describe it as they were dressed monochrome. It was almost like Little House On The Prairie,” the News of the World quoted her as saying.

“They were like robots. The young one wouldn’t move and had this eerie smile and the older one had very rehearsed answers and she didn’t very much like talking to us,” she added.

Ally further revealed that one of Garrido’s daughters even told them that there was a third girl living at his house.

The cop said: “The younger daughter told me, ‘We have an older sister aged 28.’ The older daughter said, without missing a beat, ’29′. And she seemed bothered that was even mentioned.”

Ally said that she and Lisa were certain that the little girl was talking about Jaycee.

She revealed that she even asked the younger daughter about a “tumour- like” bump under her brow, fearing that it could be a sign of child abuse.

She recalled: “She immediately replied with this very rehearsed response, ‘It’s a birth defect, inoperable, I will have it for the rest of my life.’ I’m a mother. I have two young sons and this is when my police mode turned into my mother’s mode, kind of mother’s intuition.”

Ally and Lisa said that they asked Garrido to return the next day, so that they would get some time to check his records.

Upon investigation, the cop duo found Garrido to be a registered sex offender on parole for kidnap and rape.

Recalling a discussion with Garrido’s parole officer, Ally said: “He stopped me when I said he brought in his two daughters. He said, ‘He doesn’t have two daughters.’ I felt sick.”

The discovery finally led to Garrido and Nancy’s arrests. (ANI)

Treating juvenile offenders’ physical and mental health needs critical to rehabilitation

Washington, June 20 (ANI): Conducting a comprehensive review of past studies into the health of young offenders undertaken in the US, UK, Europe and Australia since 1997, researchers at the University of Adelaide have come to the conclusion that the physical and mental health needs of juvenile offenders should be treated as a priority, if offenders held in detention have any real hope of rehabilitation.

“Health – both mental and physical health – is an issue that has a serious impact on young offenders,” says lead study author Dr. Anne Wilson, Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Nursing.

“The health of young offenders is commonly poorer in comparison with the general youth population. Previous studies document the growing concern for the health of young offenders, including their risk-related behaviours, mental health, social and family problems, and other physical health deficits.

“The underlying problems affecting these young offenders need to be addressed as a priority if they are to be successfully rehabilitated and reintegrated into the community,” she adds.

Phillip Tully, a PhD student in the School of Psychology who co-authored the study, says that the review identifies various factors for successful mental health and trauma care-such as improving existing mental health services; identifying mental health problems with a high-quality screening process; ongoing support within and outside of secure care; improving the availability of services; and linking offenders directly to primary health or mental health services on release.

The researchers believe that improving young offenders’ access to health care could go some way to addressing their poor physical health status.

“However, additional social factors, such as education, peer support and family support, are likely to determine whether young offenders access the services they need,” says Dr. Wilson.

“There is little doubt that those released from secure care face immense challenges to maintaining their health and well-being.

“Many young offenders live in social conditions that are not conducive to achieving a healthy state. They are commonly exposed to poverty, social disadvantage, abuse and family dysfunction, and these factors may promote high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse, coping problems, truancy and low educational attainment.

“These social, familial, personal and peer-group factors can lead to repeat offender behaviour and to a generational cycle of health problems. This is most clearly seen in neighbourhoods where drugs are readily available to young people, where they are exposed to adult substance abuse, live in single-parent households, have caregivers with low levels of education, and receive government aid,” she adds.

According to her, effective planning is needed to address ongoing health issues experienced by young offenders when they are released from detention.

“Young offenders have diverse and complex needs. By utilizing a comprehensive screening measure, individual plans can be formulated upon the offender’s admission to secure care, with a view to looking ahead to their eventual discharge and their return to society.”

The study has been reported in the Australian Journal of Primary Health. (ANI)

Longer sentences for future crimes deter potential criminals

Washington, May 19 (ANI): Former prisoners are less likely to return to jail if they expect longer sentences for future crimes, according to a study.

The study-conducted by researchers from the University of Naples Parthenope, France-based National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), and University of Bergamo-used a recently passed Italian law as a natural experiment.

“This paper contributes to the literature providing evidence that potential criminals do respond to a change in prison sentences,” write the study’s authors.

They say that Italy’s Collective Clemency Bill, which was passed in 2006, presents a unique opportunity to study the deterrent effect of prison sentences.

They point out that when the clemency bill was passed, it immediately released thousands of prisoners who had three years or less left on their sentences. The remainder of each prisoner’s sentence was suspended, but not forgiven.

According to the authors, the law stipulated that a former inmate who commits a new crime within five years will have the suspended portion of his sentence reinstated and added to the sentence for the new crime.

Consequently, a repeat offender can expect extra jail time equal to the suspended portion of his sentence-anywhere from one month to three years.

The researchers used government data to look at the recidivism rates of the hese former inmates for the first seven months after their release, and found that those with longer suspended sentences-and therefore longer expected sentences for new crimes-were less likely to be re-arrested than those with shorter suspended sentences.

“These results corroborate the general theory of deterrence,” the authors write.

Their calculations suggested, “increasing the expected sentence by 50 percent should reduce recidivism rates by about 35 percent in seven months.”

However, even a small increase in the expected sentence was enough to deter recidivism at least a little, the team found.

The data suggest that a one-month increase in expected sentence resulted in a 1.3 percent lower probability of returning to prison.

The deterrent effect was consistent across age groups, and among men and women, though 95 percent of the sample was male.

“This means that a policy a commuting actual sentences in expected sentences significantly reduces recidivism. A mass release of prisoners can be effective in reducing their propensity of re-committing crimes if, when a released individual gets convicted of a new crime, his normal sentence is increased by the time that was pardoned because of the early release,” Dr. Vertova says.

The researchers, however, write that one important exception to the deterrent effect was that recidivism rates among those whose original crime was more serious were essentially unaffected by the length of their suspended sentence, which suggests that “more dangerous inmates are not deterred.”

They also caution that their results only measure deterrence on those who have already served time in jail.

“Indeed, it is not clear whether these results can be to individuals who have never received prison treatment,” they noted.

However, despite the limitations, the study does provide real-world evidence that “individuals vary their criminal activity in response to a change in prison sentences,” the authors write.

The study has been reported in the Journal of Political Economy. (ANI)

Sexting may land teens in legal trouble

Washington, May 7 (ANI): Police officials in Virginia have warned that sexting-a term used to describe the act of sending sexually explicit photos by cellular phones-may land teens in legal fix.

The warning comes in the wake of a recent scandal in Fairfax County, in which the police discovered a cache of images of naked girls in the mobile phone of a teenage boy.

The police said that some of the photos could qualify as child pornography, a felony in Virginia.

“He thought it was a mischievous, fun game, without realizing he was asking these girls to commit a crime and he was committing a crime,” the Washington Post quoted Sgt. Bill Fulton, of the Fairfax Police Department, as saying.

Authorities are concerned that the sexting issue has almost hit a tipping point in public concern. They say that it has raised an array of practical questions about how police and prosecutors should respond and what the long-term fallout could be for children.

“This whole phenomenon seems to have exploded in the last 60 days,” said John McCarthy, the state’s attorney for Montgomery County, adding that prosecutors across Maryland had exchanged ideas about the troubling trend.

According to him, the problem is that child porn laws never contemplated “children sharing images of themselves,” and youthful sexters have little concept of their actions as a crime.

“You can literally see the shock on their faces,” McCarthy said.

If police officials are to be believed, sexters are often “the good kids” with strong grades and no criminal history.

They say that most of such youngsters send photos without realising that they could be widely circulated or posted on the Internet in view of strangers, predators and potential colleges and employers.

The officials warn that landing on a sex offender registry is possible for those prosecuted. (ANI)

Gary Glitter’s new Rolf Harris-style disguise

London, May 3 (ANI): Pop paedophile Gary Glitter has reportedly taken a new disguise to trick the crowds in London with a Rolf Harris makeover and a new name Darren.

The glam rock singer-child abuser was allegedly trying to ape the Aussie singer and TV presenter by sporting a curly grey wig, black specs and neat beard for deception, reports News of the World.

The 64-year-old, who was jailed and listed as a sex offender following conviction for downloading 4,000 images of child pornography in 1999, was seen armed with the coiffured hairpiece, along with smart jeans and blazers as he stepped out his 1.8-million pound luxury pad.

The fallen rocker was spotted eyeing pretty young waitresses and making an excuse out of his hearing problem to bring them close to him.

The pop pervert, who was deported from Vietnam last August following a jail sentence for molesting two girls aged ten and 11, later tried to pick up young women on the street, as per reports.

He then purportedly returned home in a drunken state, but not without trying to make a desperate bid to lure two attractive blondes and young man up to his flat.

Glitter apparently told the trio he was called Darren, adding: But that’s not my real name.”

And when the group looked perplexed, he insisted he could not reveal his real name.

He said: “I’ve only just returned to England. . . I was away for ten years. The government won’t let me leave the country. I hate it here. It stinks. I want to leave and if I had the chance I ould.” (ANI)

Inmates with social support likely to maintain religious conversions

Washington, May 2 (ANI): Prisoners who have support from positive social networks, such as mentors or family members, are more likely to keep their religious conversions, a new study has revealed.

According to lead author Kent R. Kerley, Assistant Professor of Justice Sciences, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham, convicts often undergo religious conversions and those with social support are the ones who maintain it.

In the study, Kerley and co-author J. Heith Copes, Ph.D, UAB Associate Professor of Justice Sciences, found the conversion was preserved through different ways such as having close connection with their gurus, chaplains or religious family members.

Keeping distance from those bearing negative influences along with active religious participation in jail, and sharing their faith with others also helped the inmates from being distracted from their religious path.

The study found that a staggering majority further engaged in prayer and meditation on a daily basis.

The article was published in the April issue of the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. (ANI)

Pak senators want action against Musharraf for violating Constitution

Islamabad, Apr 22 (ANI): Members of Pakistan’s National Assembly have asked the Government to take action against former President Pervez Musharraf for violating the Constitution and recommended introduction of a comprehensive policy to control target killing across the country.

Jamashed Dasti of PPP said on Tuesday that parliament should initiate the trial of Pervez Musharraf for taking unconstitutional steps.

He said that Musharraf was moving freely in the country in spite of violating the constitution.

“The parliament should not play the role of a rubber stamp and take action against a dictator to set an example for others,” The Nation quoted Dasti, as saying.

Shereen Arshad Khan of the PML-N said on a point of order that the former dictator who violated the constitution was enjoying his life due to the government’s relaxation and instead of getting punishment, he was being granted official protocol.

Barjees Tahir of the PML-N said: “General (retired) Musharraf is offender of 170 million people and parliament should take action against him.”

Nadeem Afzal Chan urged the Interior Ministry to take notice of the ongoing target killing in the country and formulate an effective policy to control it.

He said that the government should call All Parties Conference to address the problems faced by the country.

Riaz Hussain Pirzada of PML-Q expressed grave concern over the institutions of the country and said that the political leadership proved itself to be a weak leadership. (ANI)

Asif to attend IPL, but only as a spectator

Karachi, Apr 15 (ANI): Mohammad Asif, who became the first ever doping offender of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last summer, will make a comeback to the cash-rich Twenty20 league in South Africa, not as a player, but as a spectator.

The Pakistani fast bowler is on a rehabilitation mission which takes him to London on Wednesday (today) for a couple of weeks, before he leaves for South Africa to witness some of the IPL matches there next month.

Asif, 26, is hoping to make a successful return to international cricket during this year’s ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, soon after his one-year ban ends in September.

The pacer was banned by the IPL after he tested positive for banned anabolic steroid nandrolone last summer while featuring in the inaugural season of the Twenty20 spectacle for Delhi Daredevils.

His agent says that the fitness plan has been devised in a way that can help Asif ease his way back into international cricket with the eight-nation Champions Trophy.

“All the setbacks that have hit him in the last year or so have left Asif really exhausted,” said Salman Ahmed, an official of the company managing Asif.

“We have prepared a fitness regime for him that will help him recover both mentally and physically,” The News quoted him, as saying.

The plan is to make Asif work under expert trainers in England for at least four weeks, and then start playing league cricket there.

Several clubs based either in Cambridge and greater Manchester has shown a lot of interest in hiring Asif for this season.

After playing in England for a couple of months, Asif is stated to return home in August for a final phase of training for the Champions Trophy. (ANI)

Jindal latest victim of shoe attack, ‘forgives’ attacker

Kurukshetra (Haryana), April 10 (IANS) Millionaire industrialist and Congress MP Naveen Jindal Friday become the latest victim of a shoe attack when a drunk retired school teacher hurled a footwear at him inside the Congress party office in this Haryana town. Jindal said he had ‘forgiven’ the attacker.

‘Personally, I have forgiven that man but I think there should be some action against such people,’ Jindal told the media in state capital Chandigarh, 80 km from here.

The shoe did not hit Jindal. However, the Haryana Police took the offender, Raj Pal, into custody.

The incident took place at the Congress office here during a meeting of party leaders.

Police officials said the man had been medically examined and was found to be in an inebriated state when he hurled his shoe at Jindal. The provocation behind the incident was not yet clear.

Jindal, who represents the Kurukshetra constituency in the Lok Sabha, is seeking re-election from the same constituency.

Jindal wondered how did the man gain entry into the party office. ‘I am sure that he was not a Congress party worker and I do not know how he managed to gain entry inside the premises. He was in an inebriated condition and was continuously murmuring something,’ Jindal said.

Earlier, Congress leaders wanted to complain to the Election Commission against the opposition parties over the incident. But Jindal said he was not complaining, while suggesting that opposition leaders could be behind it.

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and union Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Prithviraj Chavan, who is the Congress in-charge for Haryana, condemned the show-throwing.

‘Such incidents are not at all good for the health of democracy and we condemn such acts. There should be a legal course of action against the people doing this,’ Hooda said.

The opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) too condemned the incident but blamed the Congress leaders for such incidents.

‘These incidents are a manifestation of the wrong policies of the Congress leadership. This also reflects on the infighting within the Congress. The person who hurled the shoe belongs to a Congress family,’ a spokesman of the INLD said.

The incident comes four days after journalist Jarnail Singh tossed his shoe at Home Minister P. Chidambaram during a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi to protest the candidatures of Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar for the Lok Sabha polls. Tytler and Kumar are accused of involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Both were dropped as party candidates for the Lok Sabha polls from Delhi.

German prisoner rapes jail’s psychologist

Straubing (Germany), April 8 (DPA) A convicted sex offender took a prison’s chief psychologist hostage in Germany and allegedly repeatedly raped her before surrendering to police early Wednesday, Bavarian officials said.

The state’s justice minister, Beate Merk, said the police were still investigating how the 51-year-old prisoner, who had faced his first sex charges at the age of 13, had obtained a knife and managed to tie up the woman in her office Tuesday evening.

He surrendered several hours later after armed police surrounded the prison at Straubing, near Munich.

Merk said the victim, 49, was severely traumatized by the ordeal. The offender, who has spent a total of 30 years behind bars, has been serving a life term since 1985 for a sex-murder.

SC rejects Sanjay Dutt’s plea to contest LS polls

Throwing water over the Samajwadi Party’s strategy to wrest control of the prestigious Lucknow seat by fielding Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, the Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected his plea to allow him to contest the Lok Sabha elections by staying his conviction in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

The adverse apex court decision has also dashed the expectations of several others like RJD MPs Pappu Yadav and Mohammed Shahabuddin and LJP MP Suraj Bhan Singh. Convicted on various charges, these MPs had been hoping for a favourable judgement from the Supreme Court in the Sanjay Dutt case so that they too could seek relief on similar grounds. Pappu Yadav had even visited the Congress headquarters recently, hoping for a ticket from the party.

”In view of the serious offence for which he (Sanjay Dutt) has been convicted…we are not inclined to suspend the conviction and sentence awarded by the Special Judge,” a bench headed by Chief Justice KG Balakrishnan said dismissing Dutt’s petition.

Responding to the judgement, the 50-year-old Dutt said in Lucknow that he respected the court’s decision. ”I am a law-abiding citizen…I really respect the decision of the court…Lucknow is my home whether I contest the election or not,” he said. Asserting that he had full faith in judiciary, Dutt said, ”I am not going anywhere. I am here to stay I am not leaving. Any candidate who will come will be my candidate. It is my seat and will always remain so.”

Asked whether his wife Manyata will now be the SP candidate from Lucknow, he said that it will be decided by the party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and general secretary Amar Singh. The well known actor, whose father Sunil Dutt was a cabinet minister in the UPA government, had sought suspension of his conviction under the Arms Act in connection with the Mumbai blasts case. He has been sentenced to six years imprisonment and is out on bail granted by the apex court.

In its observation, the apex court asserted that Dutt is a well-known artists and not a ”habitual offender” and whose father was also a well-known actor deeply involved in politics. ”Despite all these favourable circumstances, we do not think that this is a fit case where conviction and sentence could be suspended,” the bench, also comprising Justices P Sathasivam and RM Lodha, said in its nine-page judgement. It pointed out that election law clearly prohibited Dutt from contesting the polls.

”Law prohibits any person who has been convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years from contesting the election and such person shall be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release”, the bench said. It said the power of the court to stay the conviction to enable a convict contest the elections has to be exercised rarely.

The Bench rejected Dutt’s contention that his case should be considered on the lines of that of BJP leader Navjot Singh Sidhu whose conviction and three year imprisonment in a road rage death case was stayed by the apex court to enable him to contest the Amritsar Lok Sabha bye election.

Dungeon dad to be probed over string of unsolved murders

London, Mar 19 (ANI): Dungeon dad Josef Fritzl will be questioned over a string of unsolved murders, as police now want to uncover the details of his evil crimes in the last forty years.

The Austrian engineer is being suspected for at least four murders as well as missing persons’ cases stretching back more than four decades, in which three of the victims were teenage girls.

One of the most striking cases is of Martina Posch, who was 17 when she was raped and strangled on the shores of the Mondsee lake in November 1986.

The girl was strikingly similar to Elisabeth, was a similar age, and her naked body was found close to a guest house which Fritzl and his wife Rosemarie owned and ran at the time.

According to reports, Fritzl’s earliest possible murder victim is Anna Neumayer, 17, who was murdered with a bolt gun in August 1966, and whose body was discovered in a field.

She had disappeared on her way to Wels, less than 20 miles from where Fritzl was working at the time, reports the Telegraph.

The police are also probing possible links with the disappearance of Julia Kuehrer, 16, who was last seen in June 2006 in Pulkau, 60 miles from Fritzl’s home.

And one of his most recent possible victims is Gabriele Superkova, 20, a prostitute who was murdered in August 2007.

Her body was found at the Moldaustausee Lake, near the Austrian-Czech border, at a time when Fritzl was on holiday there.

Now investigators are sure that Fritzl had been a habitual sex offender for more than 30 years before he turned his attentions to his daughter.

Fritzl was convicted of rape in 1967, but was released within a year despite being sentenced to just 18 months.

He later captured his daughter Elisabeth in a purpose-built dungeon beneath his home, and kept her as a sex slave for 24 years.

And after the secret of his “cellar family” was disclosed in April 2008, other women have come forward to say he attacked them.

Fritzl went to frequent trips within Austria and abroad while working as an engineer for several companies, and spent long periods in India and Luxembourg.

He was also a regular sex tourist to Thailand, raising the possibility of other victims scattered around the world.

While Fritzl will be asked to admit to any other rapes and murders he has committed, its quite unlikely that he will give a full confession of the true extent of his abominable crimes. (ANI)

Congress demands removal of Gujarat minister

New Delhi, Mar. 16 (ANI): A group of Congress MLAs from Gujarat met with President Pratibha Patil in New Delhi on Monday to demand immediate removal of Gujarat cabinet Minister for Higher Education Maya Kodnani.

Kodnani, who is the Women and Child Welfare Minister in the Narendra Modi’s Government, is accused for having led a mob in the post-Godhra riots in 2002.

The delegation sought President’s intervention in case the State government does not take any appropriate action against Kodnani.

“We have requested the President that if the Gujarat Government doesn’t take any action then according to the Constitution, the President must force the Gujarat Government to take right action and remove her (Kodnani) from the minister’s chair,” Congress Chief, Gujarat, Siddharth Patel told reporters after meeting the President.

The MLA’s further alleged that despite the Special Investigation Team (SIT) having declared Kodnani as an offender in an affidavit submitted to the Gujarat High Court, Modi Government has not removed her from the Cabinet.

Kodnani obtained an anticipatory bail from a lower court, which has now been challenged in the Gujarat High Court by the Special Investigation Team. (ANI)

Blackberry in pockets, cops in Kochi go hi-tech

Kochi, Feb.6 (ANI): Blackberry, one of the latest in advanced mobile technology instruments, recently drew much attention after the new U.S President Barack Obama got a special handset for himself while defying security concerns. But in Kochi city of southern India, it could be a major blessing for local cops.

As part of the total modernisation of intelligence system after Mumbai attacks, the Kerala State police are using Blackberry to check the movement of intruders, traffic violators and to control vehicle thefts in the city.

Not just that, the Blackberry is also helping the cops here to control crime in a small coastal port city Kochi.

On experimental basis, three Blackberry sets have been issued to the constables and Inspectors of traffic department in Kochi City, as part of pilot project. Depending upon the success of the initiative, all cops on roads may get one for themselves soon.

The Police officials say this is for the first time that Blackberry system has been used by police for crime control here.

Launched by Kerala Government, on the initiative by police department, the technology has been provided by Vodafone (Kerala) with the assistance of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

As per the new system, once the vehicle number or the license number of any individual is recorded into the handset, within no time the officer can assess complete details from the server installed in the traffic control room.

“It is not just a time-saving system to get to the details about the offenders, at the same time, traffic enforcement will be more effective,” said Manoj Abraham, Commissioner of Police, Kochi City.

“Each handset would be costing around Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 and if found successful the project will be implemented in other major cities of the state,” said the Commissioner of Police.

It helps in collecting information regarding registration details of any vehicle, driving license information and other details like whether the vehicle was involved previously in any other offence and will also help cops to register cases on the spot.

These handsets have a portable wireless printer with which challans can be issued on the spot to the offender By Juhan Samuel (ANI)

Bangkok motorists caught in the act

 Bangkok motorists caught in the act Bangkok – Bangkok drivers who love to run red lights are now being captured by new traffic cameras, a report said Friday.

The almost 30,000 motorists who have been snapped jumping lights during the first week of the cameras’ operation can expect postal fines of 500 baht (14.31 dollars), said deputy city police chief police Major-General Pharnu Kerdlarpphon.

In a city where frustrated drivers frequently run red lights rather than suffer yet another lengthy wait, people may take time to alter their behaviour, he said.

Every offender will have points knocked off his or her driver’s licence, with repeat offenders temporarily losing their licence.

Some drivers already seem to be hitting the brakes rather than risk being snapped running a red light, according to the police. “I think that the number of road accidents will go down as a result,” Pharnu told the Nation newspaper.

Cameras snap details of a car’s speed and location, sending the information automatically to the Central Control Centre’s computer system along with the time and date.

Police are ready to stamp down hard on any motorists who alter their number plates rather than give up their light-jumping habits. (dpa)