The Providence Police Department is unleashing a new weapon in the fight against crime — the BlackBerry Curve. According to a Nov. 30 press release from the Office of the Chief of Police, 92 supervisory staff members have been issued the phones as part of a "long-term strategy of putting real-time tools in everyday policing."
The BlackBerry phones, which were purchased with money from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistant Grant, will provide officers with immediate access to crime bulletins as they are updated throughout the day, according to the press release. Officers can also use the phones' camera function to document evidence in assault cases and instantly communicate with other officers in the department.
"I am impressed with the vast amount of information available to me in real time with the BlackBerry," Youth Services Sergeant Carl Weston said in the press release. "I don't have to be in front of my computer at headquarters to have access to critical information."
