NYPD sets paper patrol records for iPhone app - AppleInsider

 

By Amber Neely
Wednesday, February 5, 2020, 3:37 p.m. CET (6:37 p.m. CET)

On February 17, the New York police force will withdraw the tradition of handwritten notebooks to document a patrol in a personalized iPhone application.

The notebooks used for over a century have been handwritten by officers. An officer kept records of patrols, arrests, victim and witness testimonies, and even lunch breaks for an officer. According to the New York Times, the NYPD is making the change to better organize the recorded information and access it later.

When switching to a digital version, the department can easily search for entries by date or keyword instead of searching for physical books. This also means that an official does not have to give up their notebook when information is needed, which saves time, travel costs and effort.

"It gives us the skills we didn't have before when the notebooks were in the officials' locker and we didn't have access to a lot of information," said Deputy Director Anthony Tasso.

The new digital notebooks will be stored on officials' iPhones, of which NYPD owns approximately 37,000. The New York police started using iPhones in 2015 and quickly discovered that they were a blessing in their daily lives. Employees can quickly search departmental databases instead of waiting for radio service providers to provide important information.

The new application developed by the department received information from the New York Police Department. Here, field staff can enter details about patrol teams, their vehicles, 911 responses, and other information.

The app will make up for many problems with handwritten notebooks, such as inconsistent writing styles and illegible writing. This also avoids old abuses, such as B. Officials who leave the room to add entries later.

This allows the department to collect what Chief Tasso calls "clean data." In addition, agents can use the application to upload important photos that, when linked to application input, provide a broader view of the situations captured.

While many agents and department heads see change as good, many agents are unwilling to change.

"There is a lot of nostalgia for keeping these records," said official Michael Ignatz, a 14-year-old veteran in District 90. "I'm kind of a pencil and paper, so it's a big change. It's easy for the little ones Crossing. "