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NYC Opens 911 Hotline To Pictures, Video
Anti-Globalism brings news that New York City has set up a system to accept pictures and videos for their 911 and non-emergency hotlines. The files can come from cell phones, computers, and PDAs. Quoting:
"Tipsters in New York City can now send photos and video ... to report crimes and quality-of-life issues such as potholes, officials announced Tuesday. Depending on the case, the images may be shared widely with the public, with police officers on patrol, individual detectives or other law enforcement agencies, according to city officials. The images may also be used to help in assessing and responding to emergencies."
Realize that this is an option, not a requirement. It's not as if you'll call 911 and they'll demand that you provide photos or video. But if it's relevant to the situation, and you did managed to get a picture (for instance, as someone said above, taking pictures of a fire), they are now equipped to receive that picture. Or say you just witnessed a robbery in progress and you got a picture of the getaway car as it was leaving, you can now send that to them. And of course this is also available for non-emergency lines, where it will probably see more use as the situations are not time-critical.