CHANGE YOUR WAZE!

NYPD targets app

The NYPD is demanding that Google yank a feature from its Waze traffic app that tips off drivers to police checkpoints — claiming that motorists who share such alerts could be engaging in “criminal conduct.” The crowd-sourced app allows drivers to pinpoint “visible” or “hidden” police activity, and cops say the function makes their jobs harder. “The posting of such information for public consumption is irresponsible since it only serves to aid impaired and intoxicated drivers to evade checkpoints and encourage reckless driving,” Acting Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters Ann Prunty wrote in a letter. The missive, sent over the weekend, threatened that the NYPD would “pursue all legal remedies” against the tech giant if it didn’t comply. It also issued a stern warning to drivers. “Individuals who post the locations of DWI checkpoints may be engaging in criminal conduct since such actions could be intentional attempts to prevent and/or impair the administration of the DWI laws and other rel- evant criminal and traffic laws,” Prunty wrote.

The cease-and-desist letter may also pertain to the app’s new “speed cam” function, which lets drivers notify others about speed and red-light cameras.

In a statement Wednesday, Google stood by the app’s features, saying, “Informing drivers about upcoming speed traps allows them to be more careful and make safer decisions when they’re on the road.”

Waze, which has been around since 2007, was acquired by Google in 2013.

Its “police” feature first came under scrutiny in 2015, when the city’s Sergeants’ Benevolent Association and the National Sheriffs’ Association demanded its removal, saying it could put officers’ lives in danger.

“We got drunk drivers who now know that they can use Waze to find checkpoints. If somebody gets killed, that’s crazy,” a highranking police source said

The NYPD did not say in the letter exactly why it is “criminal” to post checkpoint locations, which the American Civil Liberties Union has insisted is perfectly legal.

“Much as the police may not like it, the public has a First Amendment right to warn others about police activity,” the ACLU said.

The NYPD did not return requests for comment.