‘Ultimate tool’ IDs crooks, speeds response
specific neighborhood, whether they are on duty or off, said Inspector Anthony Tasso, commanding officer of the NYPD’s Strategic Technology Division.
“It’s going to act like a force multiplier,” Tasso said. “You’re not just sending it to people assigned to that precinct, but you are sending it to all our phones in that geographical area.”
The smartphones also have a great deal of institutional knowledge hard-wired into it, Tasso said.
When cops are responding the phone will automatically provide them with the criminal history of the location, such as how many 911 calls have been made at the address in the past and what type of calls they were. The phone also tells the officers if any wanted felons are at the address.
All of the information is prioritized based on the emergency the officers are responding to. If cops are heading to a location in connection with an emotionally disturbed person, all similar data will show up on the information feed first, officials said.
“(The phones) make our cops more efficient, safer and happier,” Hellman said. “It only helps.”
The phones give cops a treasure trove of information at their fingertips, but some officers still find the more traditional apps — the ones iPhone customers use every day — the most beneficial.
Police Officer Wendy Laurore, who graduated from the academy in October, said he wouldn’t be able to get around the 13th Precinct without the phone’s Waze navigation app.
He also likes the 911 app, which gives him a glimpse of what he is waiting for when he responds to a job.
“I like to read the description on the job,” he said. “It gives me a mental preparation as to how you’re going to react when you get there, how you’re going to take care of business.”
The department won’t be paying extra for the new iPhones, which are considered a hardware upgrade under its contract with AT&T.
The Nokia phones won’t be going to the garbage dump, either. The department is in the process of wiping data off all the old phones and plans to sell them back to the company.
While many are hailing the new phones, critics only have one thing to say: Welcome to the 21st century, NYPD.
“Nearly three decades after this stuff is pioneered, law enforcement is finally joining the adolescents of America,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYPD officer and lecturer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
“(The phones) will be invaluable, but it’s shocking these tools have taken so long to get into the hands of cops.”