Source photo : http://www.nytimes.com/
In January, 2013 New York Police Department (NYPD) had already launched an application on iPhone intended for everybody. With this app you can follow all the criminal current events, look at video of muscular arrests or still indicate a live murder. According to me, it seems particularly strange to have Information which seems to be confidential and sensitive
Now the NYPD was equipped with a new tool founded with an app under Android. It’s a new tool to lead the hunting against the crime.
Since the last summer, the New York Times reveals that 400 smartphones were distributed to the officers of the police for a life-size test of the application which allows to reach quickly and easily the database. To protect these data of hackers, devices cannot either give out, or receive phone calls.
The officer just has to type an address to obtain the details of a building. Floor by floor, he will have access to all the information on the occupants. The application reveals everything, the judicial history of the inhabitants, their registration numbers, the index forms of arrests with photos. Another function allows them to have a direct access to all the cameras of the city on the smartphone screen.
These devices are supposed to facilitate the work of law enforcement. The former system obliged them to pass by the radio to get back information less precise. Agents ask if the person whom they arrest is looked for murder or per example for car parking nonpayment. Now they know it on their fingertips. If the experience convinces the hierarchy and the labor unions, NYPD could display this tool to all the police staff. This experiment is probably going to tempt other cities to endow their police officers of this type of tool.
The NYPD gets modernized to fight better against the criminality. But don’t forget that a smartphone can be misled or stolen. The agents will thus have to double vigilance to preserve these mobile sources of information.
Maryline DIETRICH
