Get set for the YouTube version of 911.
Mayor Bloomberg revealed yesterday that the city plans to equip 911 emergency-call centers to receive instant cell phone photos and videos from New Yorkers who record a crime as it's happening.
"If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition, you'll be able to transmit images to 911," Bloomberg said in disclosing the proposal yesterday during his annual State of the City speech.
The mayor said the high-tech initiative is "something no other city in the world is doing" and would be extended to 311, the city's non-emergency hot line.
John Feinblatt, the mayor's criminal-justice coordinator, described the timetable for developing the new system as a "multi-year" effort, even though it's a relatively low-ticket item in the world of technology.
The 911 system is enormous; it received 11 million calls last year.
"Think about Google. Think about eBay. Think about photos people take on their cellphones when they're on vacation. It's time to bring law enforcement into cyberspace," declared Feinblatt.
"In the end, it's going to help us solve crimes faster."
Both Feinblatt and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly pointed to an incident last year where a woman passenger snapped a picture of a subway flasher in action and posted it on the Internet. He was later caught and convicted.
Officials had no estimate of the system's cost.
Feinblatt explained that once it's up and running, 911 callers would dial in as usual and tell an emergency operator they have photos or video to provide.
"They'll give you instructions for how to transmit the photograph," he said. "It'll be distributed appropriately," to police or other emergency responders.
The photo-enhanced 911 got a sign-off from a leading civil-rights lawyer - with a caveat.
"If we're talking about private persons - not the state - taking pictures of criminal behavior and forwarding it, my first impression is there's no civil-liberties objections," said Norman Siegel.
But he said there could be problems if someone transmitted photos of noncriminal behavior to 911 from a space presumed to be private, like a health-club locker room.
Republished with permission of The New York Post.
