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A New Avenue to Prior Notice To The City?

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Lina Maini

A while ago, we first broke the news to  our readers that the NYPD was developing a technique for crime video and picture submission directly to the police. The delivery system is now fully operational. However, these report hotlines and avenues are not for criminal activity alone. Quality of life issues can also be reported (potholes, poor parks conditions….) At the end of the News article, however, we ask questions regarding how this information can then be used in the private sector.

DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

Now you can send images and videos from your phone to cops regarding crimes, and to 311 regarding quality of life issues. Picture this: You e-mail a photo of a fleeing crook that you took with your cell phone to cops, who use it to bust the bad guy in a flash.

Now it can happen.

Callers to 911 can send photos and videos to NYPD’s Real Time Crime Center, where images are used to crack crimes or respond to emergencies, Mayor Bloomberg said Tuesday.

“This technology should scare every would-be criminal because the chance of getting caught in the act is now better than ever,” said Bloomberg.

All callers have to do is tell the dispatcher that they have a picture that could be useful in the emergency. The information is provided to cops, who contact the callers and give them an e-mail address to send the photo to.

Bloomberg, however, warned aspiring crime stoppers to exercise common sense when taking pictures. “As helpful as your photo or video image is, do not put yourself in harm’s way to obtain them,” he said. “Your safety is paramount.”

When callers say they have a crime photo, the 911 dispatcher enters a special code in the NYPD’s internal system that provides cops with the good Samaritan’s phone number.

“It’s another building block in our partnership with the public,” said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, noting that last month, the NYPD started accepting text-message tips.

But photos aren’t just for combatting crime.

New Yorkers can also send photos and videos – to 311 or http://www.nyc.gov – concerning quality-of-life issues like potholes, dirty parks or broken pay phones.

As with the protocol for 911, callers to 311 have to alert operators that they have a photo of the offense. Callers are directed to http://www.nyc.gov, where they can directly send up to three photos.

“All of these things add to the quality of life in this city,” said Bloomberg.

Bloomberg said he wasn’t worried about the system being flooded with photos, but urged the public not to “cry wolf”. I think the problem is reverse,” he said. “That people don’t call us enough.”

From our perspective, the quality of life reports (potholes, dangerous intersections, cracked sidewalks…) raises all sorts of issues re: notice to the City. And, will these reports, if founded, be channeled to private organizations such as Big Apple? Can copies of these reports be FOILed? Viz. the criminal reports: can we now identify high-crime areas that should have been more aggressively patrolled?  It will be interesting to see if this data can be accessed in preparation of litigation and if so, how it may be used in such capacity.

Our Operatives: Street smart; Net savvy.

As always, stay safe.

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Filed under: . potholes, crime report, criminals, foil, nyc, nyc government, nypd, pictures, quality of life issues, video | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

NYPD Traffic Accident Reports; By Intersection And Borough

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Lina Maini

From the WSJ:

It took nearly four months past the deadline set by city law, but the New York Police  Department has finally begun to release the first public list of every traffic accident  in the city — a comprehensive corner-by-corner snapshot of everything from  minor fender-benders to fatal collisions.

Hitch: Unless someone was injured or killed, they are not listed.

The City Council earlier this year passed a law, over the objections of the  NYPD, requiring the department to publish the data on its website, just like it  does with precinct-by-precinct crime statistics. The NYPD posted statistics for  August [recently].

Do not expect more timely report access.  There is a necessary period to include criminality involved MVAs into CompStat records.  (Ok, another and perhaps more important truth. The City sells the records to a private company which compiles the information into for-fee maps.)

The first batch of data covers only August. And it does not include  information about traffic volume, so it is impossible to know whether a high  number of accidents in any one month or near any one corner is due to a poorly  designed street or an uptick in the number of cars passing through.

It is very possible to know whether a high number of accidents is due to a poorly designed street/intersection.  First on a case checklist should be to check the latest (and public) NYC DOT’s Top Twenty Accident Locations report.

Still, the data do provide a level of granular detail about individual  streets that was not previously available and could spur neighborhood groups to  push for street changes.

The data sheds some light on how August’s 16,784 traffic accidents occurred.  By far the most common contributing factor in crashes, the report shows, is  driver inattention or distraction. Lost consciousness, meanwhile, contributed to  three. Overall, 15 people were killed and 4,813 were injured.

(Do these numbers look right?? The number of accidents appears high and the fatalities, low.  We’re researching as I’m publishing and will get back to you on this very shortly.)

Read more:  WSJ

BNI Operatives: A step ahead.
As always, be safe.
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NYPD Stop N Search Database Struck Down; Crime Fighting Familial DNA Use

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Lina Maini

This week, stop and search records maintenance by police is back in the news. NY Governor David Paterson struck down a search and record procedure used by the NYPD wherein anyone stopped for any reason, would have their info (including DNA if warranted) entered into a crime fighting database shared by multiple local, state and federal agencies.

It seems we’d just written about a similar process just  a few months ago:

from The Beacon Bulletin, September, 2009:

We’ve been monitoring the development of a relatively new investigation tool  in law enforcement and litigation closely; that of prosecutors, the FBI and other investigative/authorized agencies using the DNA samplings of relatives to locate potential criminals/defendants.

In the majority of familial DNA usage cases,  the jurisdictional agency will run a suspect’s genetic material through the FBI’s 6 million+ DNA samples database.   States are scrambling to legislate procedure for this investigative tool.  The ABA cites California as having already set up familial DNA usage protocol.

In unusual cases, (see: NPR reports of matching familial DNA in capturing the BTK (Bind, Torture and Kill) murderer) normal, routine medical samples (in the BTK killer case, his daughter’s pap smear test) are being subpoenaed for testing within the FBI’s DNA database.

Furthering compounding the issue are potential situations of identical DNA, such as has occurred in the German case involving identical twins, ultimately released without being charged, as it could not be determined which brother had perpetrated a massive jewelry heist. 

Strap in tight.  It’s going to be a bumpy road, folks.

BNI Operatives: Street smart; Web Savvy.

As always, be safe.

SITE OF THE WEEK:  http://www.blockyourex.com No further explanation necessary!

 

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Police To Blame For Dearth of 911 Calls?

Posted on October 13, 2009 by Lina Maini

Two seemingly unrelated major NY news pieces this past week:

1. Diane Schuler, the mom traveling the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway, killing 8 people in her car and the vehicle she crashed into head on. 

2. The NYPD has been recording the cell phone numbers of people calling 911 since 2003, creating a database of millions of cell phone numbers and tracking their owners in past and future investigations. 

The connection: According to the Schuler family defense attorney, Dominic Barbara, the NY State Police should have tried to intercept the Schuler vehicle the moment the first 911 call came in, considerably well  before she traveled 60 miles the wrong way.  The news of the NYPD cell phone collection has caused an uproar with many citizens protesting, along with what the civil liberties organizations are calling of a skirt-around-a-warrant maneuver by the police, stating they now would not call 911 in an emergency involving others, citing privacy concerns.  To revert to the initial article, this is going to be an interesting situation to follow if a grand jury is impaneled, considering the only person who could possibly have been criminally charged would have been the deceased driver, Diane Schuler. 

Today is voting day up on the Hill re: health reform. 

Find Thy Elected Officials:   Just type in your zip code and this site will supply you with the names and contact information for your legislators from the state level up.  This is a two click site with a host of other relevant features.

As always, be safe.

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Towed, Moved or Stolen? Finding/Recovering a Missing Vehicle in NYC

Posted on January 22, 2007 by Lina Maini

It’s 6 a.m. You’ve circled the block several times, almost certainly during a torrential downpour or unexpected snowstorm and finally you’ve come to the conclusion that your vehicle is gone. This happens to hardcore City dwellers and unsuspecting visitors alike. Unlike an intriguing “how did this happen” Lost episode, rarely is this situation amusing. Our purpose this week is to cut through the labyrinthine process of vehicle location and redemption in NYC.

The first thing you need to determine if your vehicle was towed, removed for parade, dignitary or other details or stolen.

Towed: Go online to: NYC Serv – New York City On-Line Payment Services. Check for both outstanding parking and red light tickets. The information is in real time and will reveal  if your vehicle has been towed and to which impound lot.

If your vehicle has been towed, it is important for you to know whether it was a Violation Tow or Judgment Tow:

Violation Tow: (by the NYPD): If your vehicle was booted or towed because it was illegally parked and you owe no unpaid parking tickets in judgment, simply redeem your vehicle directly from the NYPD impound lots (locations in all boroughs, except Staten Island). If however your vehicle was illegally parked and you owe more than $101 in outstanding tickets that have gone into judgment, your tickets must be paid to the Department of Finance Paying a Parking Ticket before your vehicle can be redeemed. When you have resolved your outstanding parking debt, obtain a Vehicle Release Form. Take this form to redeem your vehicle to an NYPD impound lot.

Judgment Tow: (by Sheriff or City Marshal): The vehicle’s registered owner has outstanding parking tickets of $350 or more on any vehicle registered to his/her name. To redeem a vehicle towed by the Sheriff, pay the outstanding debt online at the NYC Finance Center NYC Serv – New York City On-Line Payment Services. If the vehicle was towed by a Marshal, go to the Marshal’s office and pay the tickets. City Marshals

Moved or Stolen: If you do not locate your vehicle through this system, it has either been moved by the NYPD (for a parade, motorcade, safety… detail) or stolen. Contact the NYPD: 911 if you believe it stolen, otherwise call or go to the precinct of jurisdiction: NYPD Precincts.

There are also situations wherein a vehicle is removed and secured by the NYPD for evidentiary purposes in criminal investigations. This requires a more specialized search. Consult with an experienced investigator – she should know the more direct routes of cutting through the bureaucratic red tape and not only locate the vehicle, but the reason for seizure.

Park legally. Be safe.

Filed under: impound, missing, nypd, parking, stolen, ticket, tow truck, vehicle | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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