OSAKA — Faced with a rise in street crime, such as purse snatching, Osaka prefectural police have decided to open an e-mail account to receive messages with photos of crime suspects taken by mobile phones.

The service, open 24 hours a day, will be inaugurated at 9 a.m. on April 1. Currently, witnesses use the 110 phone number in reporting incidents to the police, but often find it difficult to describe what suspects look like, the police said. (Kyodo News)