[Scan-DC] Santa Cruz police launch app for Android devices

[Alan Henney]

Interesting comment by the deputy chief about online scanners.


Santa Cruz Sentinel (California)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News

April 20, 2012 Friday

Santa Cruz police launch app for Android devices

BYLINE: Stephen Baxter, Santa Cruz Sentinel, Calif.

SECTION: STATE AND REGIONAL NEWS

LENGTH: 457 words

April 20--SANTA CRUZ -- Santa Cruz police have launched a new application for Android mobile phones that gives users more access to law enforcement information.

The free app follows an iPhone version launched in March 2011. Both apps include the Santa Cruz police radio, alerts and maps of police activity, police photos and videos. 

New features in the Android app include a refined police scanner with less static and integration with the police's Facebook and Twitter feeds. Users also can provide crime tips to police.

An upgrade to the iPhone version is expected in late April or early May.

Police Chief Kevin Vogel said the idea is to make law enforcement information more transparent for residents.

"This is another step toward that goal," said Vogel. He added that the new app "will provide an unprecedented amount of information to our residents."

The app is available to download on Google Play by searching for Santa Cruz police. Google Play is at http://play.google.com.

The iPhone and Android apps were developed by mobilePD, whose parent company is Sunnyvale-based EZ Axess Inc.

UC Santa Cruz graduates Jamieson Johnson and Kushyar Kasraie founded both firms. Johnson said Thursday that more than 10,000 people have downloaded Santa Cruz police's iPhone app.

"We think it's the next form of what police are going to do to engage the community," Johnson said of mobile apps. The company is

courting other police agencies to develop similar applications.

Santa Cruz police were the first in the nation to provide a mobile application with police information. In 2011, the League of California Cities gave Santa Cruz police the Helen Putnam Award of Excellence for introducing the iPhone app.

Since then, Deputy Police Chief Rick Martinez and other Santa Cruz police leaders have visited other cities to explain how the app works.

Some law enforcement agencies have balked at providing the police scanner on mobile phones. They feared it could aid criminals.

Martinez pointed out that the scanner already is publicly accessible on radios. Also, police have the option to transfer important radio traffic to a secondary channel or make it private.

"Generally it's pretty inane to have (mobile phone access) on your primary channel," Martinez said.

Follow Sentinel reporter Stephen Baxter on Twitter @sbaxter_sc

ON THE WEB

Police cellphone app

WHAT: Santa Cruz police have launched a free mobile phone application for Android devices. Its features include the police radio, real-time crime maps of police activity and ways to submit crime tips.

WHERE: Click to download the app

___ (c)2012 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

LOAD-DATE: April 20, 2012

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

ACC-NO: 20120420-QC-Santa-Cruz-police-launch-app-for-Android-devices-0420-20120420

PUBLICATION-TYPE: Newspaper

JOURNAL-CODE: QC