With the recent uproar about camera phones being misused in locker rooms and other private areas, there is now some evidence that cell phones cameras are useful as a crime fighting device.

Over the last year, there have been a number of articles (such as this article from last year about the use of camera phones to pirate comics in Japan).

However, the Associated Press (courtesy of CNN) is providing evidence in an article that there are people who have made quick use of their cell phone cameras to solve, and in some cases prevent, crimes.

Most recently, a woman in Atlanta snapped a picture (of the man's face apparently) of a former principal from a nearby high school who exposed himself to her. The photo was used in a complaint and the police were able to locate and charge the perpetrator with indecent exposure.

The whole "debate" about cellular phone cameras seem just plain odd to me, as I constantly carry a real digital camera (complete with 1GB flash card) in my jacket pocket, thus assuring that I can get a high-quality picture of whatever I need to snap. Granted, it's not as "discrete" as using a cell phone, and I'd need to upload it from my PowerBook, but the camera itself is about the same size as my mobile (which also has a camera) and is certainly easier to conceal.