Windows Phone, that not loved mobile operating system, now has thousands of US police officers looking at their handsets, thanks to a deal between Microsoft and NYPD.
The department began handing out it first smartphones to the city’s 36,000 police officers in April 2015 and finished equipping the entire force earlier this year. Now, new officers at the New York City Police Academy in College Point, Queens, get phones along with their guns and badges.
Officers are able to respond to 911 calls faster, solve crimes more efficiently and create stronger ties to their community, according to NYPD, Digital Trends reported on October 15.
The NYPD has already seen tangible benefits of using the phones. In one case, a fare-beating passenger who ran out of a taxi likely would have gotten away if the responding officers didn’t have their phones on them.
The apps on offer to officers include the “911”, Search app (internal) and Crime Information Center, Messaging (internal), Case Management System, Forms and an information portal, which have all helped increase response times by 12%, according to the police force.
