911 to Accept Cellphone Videos

The New York Police Department opened a new front for tipsters on Tuesday, urging citizens to send in videos of crimes in progress.

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the start of the program in the department’s Real Time Crime Center at Police Headquarters.

In August, the department began accepting tips by text message.

The police hope to build on the network of surveillance cameras, 911 tips and text messages, tapping into the technology and habits that are already part of the daily behavior of millions of New Yorkers.

The idea takes the 911 call one step further. When a witness calls 911, the dispatcher takes the details of the crime and then assigns a special code to the report if the caller says he has photographs or video that might help solve it. A detective then calls the tipster with instructions on how to send the visual data into a department computer.


Full Story at The New York Times