Now this is cool (link available for a week):
Plan Will Allow 911 and 311 Lines to Accept Digital Images
By RAY RIVERA
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who built his fortune on innovations in information technology, announced a plan yesterday that will allow emergency 911 call centers and the popular 311 service line to receive digital photos and videos from callers.
The city will be the first in the nation to incorporate digital images into its 911 system, Mr. Bloomberg said, calling it a “revolutionary innovation in crime fighting.”
“If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition, you’ll be able to transmit images to 911, or online to nyc.gov,” the mayor said in his annual State of the City address. “And we’ll start extending the same technology to 311 to allow New Yorkers to step forward and document nonemergency quality of life concerns, holding city agencies accountable for correcting them quickly and efficiently.”
I guess we'd have to get a 311 system here before we could think about that. Anyone care to guess how many pictures of middle fingers would be received by Philadelphia's city government?