NYPD begins rolling out 36,000 iPhone 7, 7 Plus handsets to Manhattan cops
As part of a planned switch away from Microsoft's defunct Windows Phone platform, the New York Police Department recently began issuing officers their choice of iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus handsets, devices some cops are already lauding as the "ultimate tool" to fight crime.
Source: New York Daily News
Officers from Patrol Borough Manhattan South lined up outside an old police academy in Gramercy Park on Sunday to pick up their new standard issue equipment, and are among the first to receive iPhone as part of a hardware upgrade strategy, reports New York Daily News.
Announced last year, the shift will see some 36,000 Nokia handsets replaced over the coming weeks. Initially purchased in 2014 as part of a $160 million program to modernize police operations, the Nokia phones running Windows Phone will be collected, wiped and sold back to the company.
The move to iPhone 7 comes at no cost to the NYPD, as the handsets are considered upgrades under the agency's contract with AT&T.
NYPD's rollout began last month when officers patrolling the Bronx and Staten Island swapped their obsolete Nokia smartphones for Apple devices. The department is handing out about 600 iPhones per day, according to NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information and Technology Jessica Tisch.
Officers armed with iPhone will be able to access 911 dispatches, perform criminal background checks, access criminal histories when responding to calls, view video and surveillance photos, and fill out beat reports. The smartphones also make patrolling much safer, as cops responding to a job are provided detailed information about a given address and its potential dangers.
"I truly feel like it's the ultimate tool to have as a patrol cop," said officer Christopher Clampitt. "We get to the location a lot quicker," he said. "By the time the dispatcher puts out the job (on the radio) we're already there."
NYPD dispatches are pushed to the department's 911 app before they reach radios, and can be geofenced to reach only those officers located in a specific neighborhood. Last year, for example, Clampitt and his partner were alerted to, and stopped, a robbery in progress before the dispatcher put word out over radio channels.
The switch to iPhone comes a little over one year after NYPD completed its Windows Phone rollout in 2016. Since then, Microsoft ended support for the mobile platform, leaving New York law enforcement officers with obsolete equipment.
Source: New York Daily News
Officers from Patrol Borough Manhattan South lined up outside an old police academy in Gramercy Park on Sunday to pick up their new standard issue equipment, and are among the first to receive iPhone as part of a hardware upgrade strategy, reports New York Daily News.
Announced last year, the shift will see some 36,000 Nokia handsets replaced over the coming weeks. Initially purchased in 2014 as part of a $160 million program to modernize police operations, the Nokia phones running Windows Phone will be collected, wiped and sold back to the company.
The move to iPhone 7 comes at no cost to the NYPD, as the handsets are considered upgrades under the agency's contract with AT&T.
NYPD's rollout began last month when officers patrolling the Bronx and Staten Island swapped their obsolete Nokia smartphones for Apple devices. The department is handing out about 600 iPhones per day, according to NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information and Technology Jessica Tisch.
Officers armed with iPhone will be able to access 911 dispatches, perform criminal background checks, access criminal histories when responding to calls, view video and surveillance photos, and fill out beat reports. The smartphones also make patrolling much safer, as cops responding to a job are provided detailed information about a given address and its potential dangers.
"I truly feel like it's the ultimate tool to have as a patrol cop," said officer Christopher Clampitt. "We get to the location a lot quicker," he said. "By the time the dispatcher puts out the job (on the radio) we're already there."
NYPD dispatches are pushed to the department's 911 app before they reach radios, and can be geofenced to reach only those officers located in a specific neighborhood. Last year, for example, Clampitt and his partner were alerted to, and stopped, a robbery in progress before the dispatcher put word out over radio channels.
The switch to iPhone comes a little over one year after NYPD completed its Windows Phone rollout in 2016. Since then, Microsoft ended support for the mobile platform, leaving New York law enforcement officers with obsolete equipment.
Comments
Just kidding, I haven’t had a ticket in a loooong time. But police could do some cool things on the Apple platform.
They (the county) once sent my registration to my old address. Paying it immediately would have been cool, no wasting hours in line getting it renewed...
How about evidence gathering? Filming the sobriety test, checking gun ownership, criminal record, etc. I sure they have some of this already but I’m all for increasing efficiency.
2) I like that I live in a state where I can register it online. I forget if I can use a CC to do it, or if I need to use a bank routing number. If not for that I'd use a AAA location instead of going anywhere near the DMV (but that might not be available in all states).
Though I’m pretty sure that a few regulars are scouring the internet for articles on police forces that use Android phones.
Dunkin’ Donuts share price sees a surprising 3% jump on the news that they had 30,000 downloads from the Apple App Store overnight.
KIDDING!
Most of the downloads happened during morning roll call.
Awesome. The cops look happy too.
The NYPD is going to be pissed less than two years from now when all these iPhone 7s are throttled "for the their benefit".
Ya' know, 'cause the batteries go bad on iPhones for people who actually use them often. And the are people sitting in offices in California know what is good for police officers in New York City. And somehow those distant people have control over those phones whether is the perceived age of the battery or one of the many of the required updates.
Unfortunately you never really own an iPhone.