WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — You've got jail.
The city recorded its first arrests made with the help of a tablet computer under a new NYPD pilot program that equips officers with devices like tablets and smartphones to quickly access information while on patrol.
On May 20, officers from the 34th Precinct used a tablet to track two men suspected of stealing another man's phone using a "find my phone" app, said Deputy Inspector Chris Morello.
The two men were arrested and charged with assault and robbery, marking a first since the NYPD starting employing the technology. The pilot also includes new police vehicles, as well as smartphones for each officer and a tablets for each patrol car.
“The resources are here,” Morello said of the program, which is more broadly aimed at getting officers more involved in their communities. “We believe it’s going to work.”
The 34th Precinct was one of four in the city chosen to test out the new policing model introduced by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton earlier this year.
Under the pilot, which was introduced at a community meeting last month, select officers will be assigned to patrol the same area within their precincts every day. They will also spend time away from responding to 911 calls in order to meet with residents and local stakeholders.
Two neighborhood coordination officers will oversee each of the four sectors into which the precinct is divided, Morello said. These officers will receive extra training and will have flexible schedules that they can tailor to match the busiest times in their sectors.
Morello introduced the eight neighborhood coordination officers at Wednesday’s meeting of the precinct community council.
Detectives Thomas Troppman and Edwin Rodriguez will be responsible for 179th to 193rd Streets, east of Broadway. Officers Bryan Polster and Kiesha Lawhorne will cover the same area west of Broadway, as well as Fort Tryon Park.
Inwood is split into two sectors, which will be coordinated by Officers Fabio Nuñez and Peter Johnson on the east side and Officers Francis Guzman and Elvis Delacruz on the west side.
“It will encourage officers to take more ownership of their sector because they’re getting to know the same people every day,” Morello said at the meeting.
