On Tuesday I'm getting an exclusive tour through their factory, and will also visit their idea house—where apparently every LEGO in history is stored. I will also talk with LEGO designers from the Mindstorm, Creator and Star Wars lines.

Yes, I know, it's an absolute nerdgasm coming up. Hopefully I will recover soon to post videos, photos and impressions right here in Giz. For now, I'm off to LEGOLAND to do exactly that (and buy some sets).

A man in Singapore (where else) has been banned from owning a camera phone for a year after being caught secretly filming a woman in an airport bathroom. Actually, "secretly" is probably a strong word when you consider that the perp, 19-year-old Samuel Ong, simply slid his camera phone under the cubicle door to catch a few shots.

Not surprisingly, the woman caught Ong in the act and reported him to the police. In addition to the cellphone ban, he will have to complete 60 hours of community service, undergo psychiatric treatment and observe a curfew as part of his sentence. Seems like he is getting off pretty easy, especially by Singaporean standards.[Reuters]

While with the major carriers, for the most part, no one (not even the cops) can dredge up stuff from years ago since it's been long deleted, watch out if you're on an employer's carrier, like Skytel, which touts its messaging archival features. The other major catch is that even deleted messages can be recovered directly from your phone, just like deleted data from any other storage device, because of the way deletion works—it just marks the data as okay to be overwritten, so if it hasn't been replaced by new data, it's still recoverable. It's a bit easier to snag from SIM cards (which can hold up to 30 messages) than from the phone's internal memory 'cause there are dedicated gadgets for doing so.

Bottom line though, text messages are still probably the safest way to go about your business (dirty or otherwise) without worrying about getting snooped (much safer than IM or email, which are notoriously logged)—as long as you wipe them off your actual phone and make it past the two-day mark carrier-side. An anonymous prepaid phone works even better, obviously. [Slate]

At this point the service has not been met with opposition by law enforcement because it ultimately encourages drivers to slow down—and the best part is that motorists will be able to utilize it free of charge. Let's just hope that Trapster isn't reminiscent of user-backed programs from travel reservation sites like Orbitz. I would hate to blaze through a trap only to hear the audio alert as the officers are slamming my face down on the hood of my car. [CNN via jkOnTheRun]

The boys in blue made a beeline for 19 businesses situated on the Blackstock Road, a crime hotspot that, coincidentally or not, is just round the corner from the mosque where extremist preacher Abu Hamza used to preach from. Premises raided included a butcher's shop, internet cafe and greengrocer's.

The raid was not just about cellphones, however—although T-Mobile claims that 40 percent of its stolen phones go on to be used in the Blackstock Road area. Some of the other charges leveled against the suspects include drug dealing, money laundering and selling fake documents.

And the reason for 600 woodentops? Well, a bit like the Kaiser Chiefs, officers predicted a riot, so they sent an entire regiment of men down there. Seventy men were arrested, 300 stolen mobiles recovered, as well as (deep breath) 120 laptops, 110 cameras, 32 iPods and 20 satnavs. Oh, and 47 forged passports and driving licenses. I heart London. [Daily Mail]

Contrary to our previous report, the Micro Air Vehicle is still pending FAA testing but "is expected to make its debut soon in the skies over the Florida Everglades."

Honeywell's MAVs, which are now being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, are not the only ones waiting for FAA permission. There are dozen of companies making all kinds of spy drones now, among them Cyber Defense Systems, which has a kite-sized surveillance drone that has been already flown once by the police in Palm Bay, also in Florida. [Reuters]

It is bulkier than most of Batman's gear at 19 pounds, but it'll shoot 120 feet (12 stories) straight up with up to 350 psi from its compressed air source. It's also super silent for stealth infiltrations. It's more Christian Bale's SWAT/ninja Batman than Michael Keaton's thinner, jaded Dark Knight—I could see it in the Tumbler's trunk. Side question: How far would someone fly if they got beaned in the chest with this thing? [Digital Force Tech via Crave]

[Daily Mail via Crunchgear]

The device has just been awarded two separate patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, so you can expect to see these out in force at sobriety checkpoints sometime soon. On the bright side, you might make it on TV as the latest guy on COPS pressed face down onto the hood of a car with no shirt on. [Hawkeye via Press Release via Ubergizmo]

You can picture the scene. A kid was caught on surveillance camera shooting a guy in a Bronx elevator. The kid tells the NYPD detective that he'd been threatened. The detective was cool with that but wanted to grill the guy for extra info, like what happened to the gun. The trouble was, this whole chat was operating outside the whole "Miranda rights" space. The detective knew this, saying "Our conversation right now does not exist." And it would have disappeared into the wispy past had it not been for an MP3 player in the kid's pocket, a Christmas gift from a few days earlier, which had a Record button.

The shooter captured the whole chat, which he later burned to CD and distributed in court. Now the detective is up for 12 felony counts of perjury (for having denied the conversation ever took place) and the kid, who's best option was originally a plea-bargain of 15 years, was suddenly offered one for just 7 years.

Is this justice? Or is this injustice? More importantly, what MP3 player was it? This was December 2005, the unnamed MP3 player was red, and there was one-touch or some other very easy recording capability, so it wasn't an iPod. Nor was it an unborn Zune, what the rocket scientists at ABC News used to illustrate this story. Let's hear your best armchair forensics guesswork. [NYT]

Macrovision is betting that a combination of its security software with Gemstar's interactive program guide...will allow protected TV shows, films, personal photos or music to be available on numerous devices beyond the television.

"We can't decipher it," says Joerg Ziercke, President of the BKA, Germany's Federal Police Office. "That's why we're talking about source telecommunication surveillance — that is, getting to the source before encryption or after it's been decrypted." He does not, however, advocate that the Talinn-based internet company gave law enforcers its encryption keys.

"There are no discussions with Skype," he continued, stating that he had no interest in harming a company's competitiveness. "I don't think that any provider would go for that." He did, however, express the need for his country's law enforcement agencies to be able to conduct online searches of suspects' hard drives using Trojan Horse spyware, but he stressed that these cases were rare.

"We currently have 230 proceedings related to suspected Islamists," Ziercke said. "I can imagine that in two or three of those we would like to do this." [i4u and VoIP News]

Diesel powered with 40% better fuel economy than a standard police vehicle, the E7 will still get 0-60 in 6 seconds with a lifespan of nearly 3 times that of standard patrol vehicles. But the even more appealing advantage is its ability to shrug off bullets. Door and dashboard armor will deflect small arms fire up to 9mm. Meanwhile, cops can trace the shooters through infrared cameras that will cut through the cloak of night.

And that fancy paint job you are admiring wouldn't be paint at all, but thermoplastics that can take a lot more abuse from your area's pissed-off teenager with car keys.

Given that the E7's $20,000-$70,000 price tag could make it accessible to the masses, you might want to ditch that "herbal garden" before it's too late. Hit up Popular Mechanics for their other future cop tech. [popularmechanics]

Over the weekend, a SWAT team, K-9 Units, and Special Ops negotiators were called into a North Fort Myers trailer park where an unidentified 60- to 70-year-old man was allegedly menacing his neighbor with a gun. When the man saw the cops, he threatened to kill himself. The scariest moment was robot-free, actually, but very, very Hollywood:

At one point, a deputy and the subject confronted one another face to face, both holding a gun. Fortunately the two walked away without firing a shot.

As night was beginning to fall, deputies stepped up their tactics by using a bomb robot to assist. The subject shot at the robot, breaking the robot's lens, and then deputies subdued the man.

From September 1, the warnings will appear every 30 minutes on 13 of China's top portals. The virtual cops are expected to be rolled out to all websites registered with Beijing servers, according to the Beijing Public Security Ministry.

Whether this means that the 137 million Chinese who surf the web will be further monitored than they already are is, however, unclear. Clicking on the cops will direct users to the Public Security website. "We will continue to promote new images of the virtual police and update our internet security tips in an effort to make the image of the virtual police more user friendly and more in tune with how web surfers use the internet," it said.

The Chinese Communist Party regards the internet as the devil incarnate and is constantly blocking its people's access to foreign sites, and anything that doesn't float their political or moral boats is banned. Nudity, profanity, illegal gambling, and pirated music, books and film are still, however, available on Chinese internet servers. [Yahoo!]

Apparently the public has been duped into believing that tasers, computers and maybe even lights that blinked were what cops needed to track and stop criminals. While pricing information is not available on the decorator's manufacturer's website, we're guessing that a couple of fanny packs will be a more economical option for our friends in blue when riding around on their Segways. [streetsmartrevolution]

Three hundred police officers were given access to 50 cameras and body-worn video equipment, which they could strap on during day or night patrols. The visual evidence of crimes meant that it was well-nigh impossible for the perpetrators to get away with it, as was frequently the case. There was less paperwork for the police, less time spent in court, earlier guilty pleas and an increase in convictions.

At the end of the yearlong pilot, arrests for violent crime were up by a massive 85 percent, while the police's detection of violent crime was up by 40 percent. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, the force which undertook the trial, also claimed to have reduced violent crime by 8 percent.

At the same time as the report was aired, the Home Office published guidance on police proceedures for recorded arrests. Although nothing was mentioned about smiling for the camera and only showing one's best side, it did suggest that the cops notify suspects that their actions are being digitally preserved for posterity (unless it's a covert operation in which case anything goes*).

*That's a joke, by the way.

[Kablenet via The Register]

Manchester Traffic Cops to Carry Webcams [MobileMag]

The first scenario puts you on a bus being attacked by predatory birds where people disappear and reappear, all while voices sinisterly tell you "He's taking you to the FBI!" Scenario two plants you at a pharmacy where the pharmacist hands you poison instead of meds, while people glare at you. (Kinda reminds me of Duane Reade.) – Matt Buchanan

Virtual Hallucinating Device Drives Police Insane for a Day [Wired via Fark]

That's because this laser is really a laser-induced plasma channel (LIPC) that can conduct electricity. You break the stream and—ZAP—you wake up behind bars to the smell of burnt hair and another man's aftershave. And that's what we are calling a best case scenario.

For those interested in purchasing units for home use, remember that all the really cool technology is controlled by the US government...and to stay clear of their buildings after 5pm.

Hit the jump for some video of the PDS.

Case in point, officers tried to serve a warrant to a teen suspected of robbing a student of two PS3s. Things turned bad when the kid was unarmed, but may "have been holding a video game controller when he went to the door as it was bashed in by officers." Yikes! In addition, his german shepherd was also "shot to death."

Lesson: don't be holding anything in your hand when police knock down your door. More specifically, nothing black, like a SIXAXIS. – Jason Chen

N.C. police kill student accused in PlayStation 3 robbery, police tried to serve warrant [WHDH]

Police say they discovered that the "robbery report was bogus", and that there may have been more people involved. The four PS3s still haven't been recovered, but you can bet these two kids are busy stashing the consoles where the cops can't find them. That, and hoping they don't have to go to PMITA prison. – Jason Chen

Holdup was fake, cops say [SacBee via Joystiq]

The crowd then rushed the entrance, which caused the manager to pull down the shutters and barricade himself in. Police on the scene labeled the crowd an "unlawful gathering", then used batons on people who were being uncooperative. To those baton-ed: better that than having to play through NBA 07 or Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire. – Jason Chen

Playstation 3 Rush: Police Use Force [KMPH via Digg]

– Louis Ramirez

YouTube Video Leads to Arrest [via News.com via Sun Online]

In this case it is a bit of a problem, because the GPS functionality on the bait car failed entirely. So the Dallas PD basically gave a car away to a criminal. Sure, the thief could have disabled the GPS somehow, but I think I'll call it a user-error. – Travis Hudson

Police Lose "Bair Car" When GPS Fails to Work [Via The Raw Feed]

Apple has graciously decided to step away from its campaign to force bloggers to reveal sources of leaked information about secret products. Even though the first trial of this case was decided in favor of Apple, the Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged that decision in an appeals court, which ruled that the Cupertino Fruit Company couldn't force the blogging journalists to rat on that Apple employee who squealed about a secret digital music project Apple called "Asteroid."

For some reason, the headstrong and secret-obsessed Apple "thought police" decided to let that appeals court decision stand. So what do you know? Bloggers now have the same rights as traditional reporters when it comes to protecting valuable sources of secret information. Hee haa! Sure, when you get a new hammer, everything starts looking like a nail, but we promise to use these newly-confirmed First Amendment rights wisely. – Charlie White

Apple Won't Pursue Source of Leak [San Francisco Chronicle]

The always-exciting LAPD will begin testing a GPS projectile system this fall that will assist in capturing baddies in their getaway vehicles. The StarChase system will likely reduce the number of bystander casualties and injuries that result from dangerous, high-speed chases. The system can be hand-held or mounted on a police cruiser. It will launch a small device that contains a miniature GPS locator with radio transmitter, battery and adhesive material. Simply let the baddies get away at their own pace and raid their hideout later, Dog the Bounty Hunter style. Image courtesy of Popsci. – Travis Hudson

Product Page [Via Popular Science]

Privacy proponents are concerned with the evidence gathered by the drone being used in subsequent trials, and whether they will violate any privacy rights. Either way, we think people would much prefer an eye in the sky solution than being roughed up by Vic Mackey. – Jason Chen

Drones Taking a Bite Out of Crime
[Wired]

Piratpartiet, a Swedish political party that shares similar views on copyright as TPB does said that the raid is illegal. Piratpartiet also accused the Swedish government of being pressured by American media giants. As we mentioned earlier today, TPB also believes that the raid was illegal and has vowed to get the site back up in a different country.

Honestly, DoS attack on a police website isn't always the best idea. Yeah they were baddies taking away the TPB servers, but having the official police website down could harm the country even more by hindering levels of communication within the police force. Come on pirates, couldn't you have just egged the police stations? – Travis Hudson

Yarr! Swedish police site broadsited after Pirate Bay raid [Arstechnica]

Yes, those brave police officers in Chicago will be patrolling high-priority locations, as they already do at O'Hare and Midway airports, on top of these mobile justice administrators, also known as the Segway. The city's police department is spending somewhere in the neighborhood of $500,000 on the crime fighting machines, which supposedly enable officers to cover more ground while on the beat, coasting at an order-maintaing 12.5 miles per hour. Police officers also enjoy the benefits of being taller than the average person, allowing them to catch troublemakers and agitators quickly and efficiently.

Of course, Chicago isn't the only city to experiment with the Segway. Bomb squads in Ventura, Calif. and Little Rock use the motorized scooters to escort heroic officers laden with heavy protective equipment into and out of flash points, righteously protecting citizens in the process. – Nicholas Deleon

Chicago Cops Crack Heads, Ride Scooters [Defense Tech]

Product Page [Via Red Ferret]