NYPD To Begin Equipping Officers With Tablets On Monday
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD has been trying to get tablet computers out on the streets of the city, in a pilot program that will start on Monday.
As WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reported, the pilot program will mean real-time data where officers need it, on the street and right away.
Forty officers will be testing out 20 tablets starting Monday, according to a Wall Street Journal report. The officers will have almost immediate access to an array of NYPD databases.
NYPD To Begin Equipping Officers With Tablets On Monday
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced the pilot program in March. There has already been significant testing, but the pilot will provide valuable input.
"We have our 911, crime information, our warrant systems. We also have the license plate scanners that, every day, are basically accumulating thousands, tens of thousands of license plate information. The radiation detectors, the chemical detectors that are scattered all over the city," Bratton said in March. "We really need to find a way to better share this huge amount of information that can make the officer's job much safer but also allow him to respond much more significantly to the public."
The newspaper reported a wider rollout is coming this fall.
The tablet will use an aircard for a secure connection. Officers will only have access to department databases, and not the Web.
Bratton also has been also working to establish ongoing relationships with the Los Angeles and London police departments where he said they've used advanced crime-fighting technology effectively.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
