What Happened?
New York City officials recently announced the launch of the New York Police Department Mobility Initiative. The program includes using $160 million to provide tablets and handheld devices for all police officers and patrol cars.
Goal
The New York City Police Department announced its Mobility Initiative that will use $160 million to equip police officers and patrol cars with up to 41,000 mobile devices to:
- Improve communications
- Increase safety of residents and police officers
- Streamline law enforcement efforts
- Ensure fairness within the criminal justice system
The mobile tools will include tablet computers and handheld devices to provide law enforcement teams with valuable information to better protect the city against crime and terrorism. Officers will have access to up-to-date information to support faster decision making in a state of emergency. Any information gathered by police officers in the field can then be instantly shared with prosecutors to ensure accurate data is made available.
The Details
The $160 million is the result of $90 million from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office after winning several sanction cases and $70 million in asset forfeiture funds from a sanctions case settlement from New York City. The money will fund the NYPD’s mobile technology platform for the next three years including outfitting 6,000 police cars with tablet computers, providing 35,000 handheld devices to all police officers and maintaining the NYPD’s mobile Domain Awareness System to detect terrorist attacks. The funds will also go toward:
- Enhancing patrol efficiencies: Officers will have expanded search capabilities to conduct record checks in real-time. Devices will receive 911 emergency call information to enable faster response times.
- Officer safety features: Responding officers will have critical 911 data at their fingertips better preparing them for the emergency situation and alerting them to available police resources nearby.
- Detective support: Devices will provide access to investigative databases with a Real Time Crime Center, and capabilities to update case information in the field.
- Direct and centralized communications: Information on cases can be sent to field officers immediately, which can expedite successful closing of cases.
- Counterterrorism force multiplier: Alerts will be transmitted to officers to enable coordinated responses.
In the next three years, the NYPD also plans to integrate fingerprint scanning into the mobile platform for faster in-field identity checks.
Other Mobile Moves
The Tempe Police Department is also focused on mobility after it launched a new smartphone app. KTAR News reported the police department app offers a more efficient way for the community to contact law enforcement via phone, email or message boards. Users can also:
- View unsolved crime information
- Submit tips
- View a map of local sex offenders
- Access resources and information
Other municipalities are using third party providers to create police department mobile apps, such as MobilePD. The platform allows police departments to brand the app and share public data with the community through a simple user interface. Similar to the Tempe app, MobilePD also enables the public to communicate directly with the department.
After the Santa Cruz Police Department adopted the MobilePD app, the department reported a 300 percent increase in tips on unsolved crimes. The app was downloaded by more than 20,000 users, which accounts for more than 30 percent of the city’s population.
Police Tech
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