All 36,000 New York City police officers will pack Windows Phones
In late 2014, New York City kicked off a pilot program where up to 25,000 officers were issued Windows Phone devices. As reported by New York 1 the NYPD stated that all 36,000 officers will soon be carrying one of these smartphones.
Images appear to show a Lumia 640XL is being used, but the report doesn't specifically identify the model of phone being issued to officers. Upgrading to Windows 10 Mobile devices, with Continuum support, makes sense for the future, but a more stable version of Windows Phone 8 makes sense at this time.
These smartphones are loaded with special department, state, and federal databases to make enterprise universal search a vital component to the success of the program. While the police commissioner referred to FaceTime in the press conference, it's Skype Video that is supported on these particular devices.
An example of how the phones helped out during the pilot program was detailed by the police with this report:
73rd precinct cops received alerts from the new high-tech shot-spotter system that eight shots had been fired near 409 Saratoga Avenue. When they searched the building's roof, they found bullet casings. Using their phones again, cops discovered a woman in the building had an outstanding arrest warrant. They got a search warrant over their phones for her apartment, where they found two guns, and made three arrests.
Police report that on this past Monday alone they looked at 2,000 wanted flyers, conducted 36,000 database searches, and reviewed information on approximately 29,000 911 calls on their phones. When you look at the walkie-talkie gear the NYPD was using, these Windows Phones are quite an advancement in technology.
Thanks to WinBeta for the heads-up on this NY1 article. I have reached out to Microsoft for more details on the program.