Slashdot Mirror
NYC 911 to Accept Cellphone Pics and Video
SpaceAdmiral writes "New York City is developing a plan to allow images to be sent to 911 emergency operators from cellphones. This will likely give emergency operators better information to pass along to responders. They're also planning on implementing a program of street-corner video cameras, as seen in the city of London. According to John A. Feinblatt, Mayor Michael Bloomberg's criminal justice coordinator: 'The more information that the police have and the more quickly that they get it, the more likely that they are going to fight a crime.'" How practical do you think it is to expand this sort of project to cities across the country? Moreover, is it worth the expense?
I think this is ingenious. A very good idea. This will help police get a visual aid.
It seems very practical to me. If you can do it once, it's a matter of software, so you can copy the code and do it everywhere. Bandwidth is the only issue for some places. But in the major cities, this isn't a problem. In the minor cities and rural areas, the service will be inferior, but then again all serious in such areas is inferior. Giving priority to 911 calls would make sense, of course!