911, 311 Hotlines Now Accepting Photos, Video

2008_09_nypdbeating.jpgOn July 30th, NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly promised that New Yorkers would be able to send video and text straight to police in a “relatively short period of time.” And he actually delivered! The image software, which cost about $250,000, also serves the city's 311 non-emergency hot line, so don't hesitate to gather cell phone video of potholes and graffiti. According to WABC, New York is the first American city with the capability to accept images. 911 callers who have cell phone video or photos of a crime are instructed to inform the operator, and a detective with the NYPD's cool-sounding Real Time Crime Center will call back to receive the images. The evidence can also be submitted anonymously (details here), and by next year photos sent in by bystanders will be transmitted to patrol cars in the area.

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Comments (7) [rss]

So if I see a big pothole I can take a picture of it and just send it to 311?

Yes Daniel, if you follow the link in the article, you'll see potholes is on the list!

> Report pothole, street, highway & sidewalk construction complaint

Get cracking, I expect you to send in 20 pothole photos/day.


How long before some idiot gets killed for filming a robbery?

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Wonder how this works when the police are abusing you?

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To poster #4, it won't work when the police is BEATING THE SHIT out of someone because the number one excuse the police uses is "The video doesn't tell the "Whole" story". Unfortunately the Judge, Jury and so on buy into that BS excuse.

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This is so the police's PR dept gets a heads up on police brutality videos, or pays a visit to the filmer with some men in ski masks.

ah yeah police state run by the citizens. Who watches the watchmen who watches the watchers?

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