The notoriously Luddite NYPD—they still use typewriters for most paperwork—has a technological visionary in their midst. Though most people know the Internet is just a passing fad, crazy Capt. Kenneth Corey at the 76th Precinct in Brooklyn thinks it should be used to communicate with concerned citizens. So he frequently sends electronic mail, or "e-mail," to a growing subscriber list, informing them of local crime news. But is the NYPD brass going to stand for this? What do they pay spokesman Paul Browne for?
In fact, the Daily News reports that other Brooklyn precinct commanders have asked Capt. Corey to help them merge onto the "information superhighway." What's next, an NYPD Geocities site?! In fairness, the NYPD has been using Twitter since last year, and today they want to remind you that "with pre-election demos, the Halloween parade and the NYC Marathon, the NYPD will be working to keep people moving and safe thru the wkend."
Recipients of Capt. Corey's e-mail blast include local bloggers like Pardon Me for Asking and The Word on Columbia Street. And the content goes beyond crime reports to inform residents about other news, like his haiku-like announcement that over the summer "at approximately 4:40 this afternoon, a large tree branch fell...inside Carroll Park."
