Police want WAZE app changed

[Chris0nllyn]

Sheriffs are campaigning to pressure Google Inc. to turn off a feature on its Waze traffic software that warns drivers when police are nearby. They say one of the technology industry's most popular mobile apps could put officers' lives in danger from would-be police killers who can find where their targets are parked.

There are no known connections between any attack on police and Waze, but law enforcers such as Kopelev are concerned it's only a matter of time. They are seeking support among other law enforcement trade groups to pressure Google to disable the police-reporting function. The emerging policy debate places Google again at the center of an ongoing global debate about public safety, consumer rights and privacy.

Waze users mark police presence on maps without much distinction other than "visible" or "hidden." Users see a police icon, but it's not immediately clear whether police are there for a speed trap, a sobriety check or a lunch break. The police generally are operating in public spaces.

Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford County, Virginia, said the police-reporting feature, which he called the "police stalker," presents a danger to law enforcement.

"The police community needs to coordinate an effort to have the owner, Google, act like the responsible corporate citizen they have always been and remove this feature from the application even before any litigation or statutory action," said Brown, who also serves as the chairman of the National Sheriffs Association technology committee.

Brown and Kopelev raised concerns during the meeting of the National Sheriffs Association winter conference in Washington. They pointed to the Instagram account of the man accused of shooting two NYPD officers last month. Ismaaiyl Brinsley posted a screenshot from Waze on his Instagram account along with messages threatening police. Investigators do not believe he used Waze to ambush the officers, in part because police say Brinsley tossed his cellphone more than two miles from where he shot the officers.

Kopelev said he hadn't heard about the Waze app until mid-December when he saw his wife using it. Afterward, Kopelev said he couldn't stop thinking about the app and was motivated to act by the NYPD shooting. While attending the funeral of one of the officers in New York, he spoke with Brown, his former boss. Brown asked Kopelev to discuss Waze at the upcoming sheriffs' association conference. Kopelev refers to his efforts as his "personal jihad."

The executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, Jim Pasco, said his organization has concerns, too.

"I can think of 100 ways that it could present an officer-safety issue," Pasco said. "There's no control over who uses it. So, if you're a criminal and you want to rob a bank, hypothetically, you use your Waze."

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/01/sheriffs-want-popular-police-tracking-app-disabled-110896.html

 

[LibertyBeacon]

Calling this his "personal jihad" is probably not the best choice of words if you want to be taken seriously.

 

[Toxick]

It's a traffic app.

Cops affect traffic. :shrug: They do.

"There's no control over who uses it. So, if you're a criminal and you want to rob a bank, hypothetically, you use your Waze."

....Maybe the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

 

[RPMDAD]

My wife uses it no big deal at all, sometimes it is accurate and there is police activity on the side of the road, and sometimes the police have already rolled on. It also alerts you of accidents ahead and backed up traffic. I don't feel it is an intrusion on LEOs at all. It is about as accurate as CB radios were in the old days.

 

[Hijinx]

Police want to use license plate scanners, drones,Traffic camera's , red light camera's, Radar all types of technology.
They watch us from the sky with planes and helicopters.
They even have a radar that can look through your walls.
Dash Camera's and Body Camera's
A lot of people used to like to listen to police and fire scanners, but they are beating that now
They like it being one sided.

Many are now going digital, Probably to help scanner sales be cause Shirley they know soon the monitors will be out that will decode the digital.
The police want to hear you, but they don't want you to hear them.
Their privacy is paramount, yours???? Not so much.

Technology does not belong to Police only.

 

[vraiblonde]

....Maybe the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Good, so it's not just me who had that initial reaction.

 

[officeguy]

If you work on behalf of the public on a public roadway, you can't expect to keep your location a secret. How dumb.

 

[GURPS]

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/01/sheriffs-want-popular-police-tracking-app-disabled-110896.html

 

[GURPS]

I am thinking this does not go very far on 1st amendment grounds

 

[FollowTheMoney]

The poor wittle scared police are worried. Awww. Bunch of pussies! But in reality, the real bad guys already have a network keeping track of "law enforcement" activity, and it's not an app.