In late August, a 27-year-old police officer was accused of raping a woman at gunpoint while off-duty in Manhattan. Officer Michael Pena pleaded not guilty to charges that he forced the 25-year-old schoolteacher into a courtyard behind an Inwood building at gunpoint early that morning and raped her—he even implied it was consensual, and that he was just "cheating" on his girlfriend. Today, the arresting officer testified about Pena's state that morning: "I looked at his shield and I threw it to the ground in disgust," said Officer Timothy Kraft, according to DNAInfo. more ›

An off-duty cop was caught allegedly raping a woman at gunpoint in Inwood early this morning, according to police sources. The suspect flashed what appeared to be a police badge at the victim around 6:45 a.m., near the intersection of Park Terrace West and West 217th Street, before forcing himself upon her; witnesses who were walking by saw the rape, and called 911. "They apparently caught the guy in the act," a neighbor told the Post. more ›

For an NYPD officer, losing your shield is a major headache, leading to lots of annoying paperwork and a penalty that can cost up to 10 days’ pay. So it's an open secret that many officers keep their actual badge at a safe at home, and buy a fake "dupe" badge for everyday use. The Times has an interesting article on the practice, and gets a choice quote from former chief of department, Louis Anemone, who explains that many officers use dupes because they're afraid of losing their real badges at a bar: "You’re going to go get boxed on a Friday or Saturday night. You don’t want to say you lost your shield when you were out drinking, so you carry a dupe." more ›

After a ten month investigation, cops have busted a Suffolk County mail courier who they say forged dozens of realistic-looking deputy sheriff's badges and gave them out to acquaintances. But 54-year-old Peter Mistretta says it's all a big misunderstanding because he runs a male stripper business on the side and the badges were simply part of his employees' costumes. According to police—the real kind you generally don't want to see in G-strings—five shields and ID cards had the shield numbers of active-duty officers. And in July a driver pulled over in Vermont showed the trooper a fake Suffolk sheriff's ID, which was traced to Mistretta. Newsday reports that Mistretta is also in trouble over the five grams of cocaine in his possession when he was arrested—but surely that was just a prop for the Scarface stripper routine. more ›

Hackers and tourists unite this summer as hackers from around the world track themselves, and others, in NYC. Confused? Terrified? Read on...

As part of a social experiment, attendees at a hacker conference in July will be issued badges with electronic tracking devices. Large displays will show in real-time where people go, with whom they associate, for how long and how often. more ›