NCJ Number
123866
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 38 Issue: 5 Dated: (May 1990) Pages: 42-47
Date Published
1990
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Arrest complaint preparation via a video teleconferencing system (VTS) provides both time and budgetary savings to New York City law enforcement agencies.
Abstract
Successful 90-day trials by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in its Times Square bus terminal and at the New York City Police Department's 32nd precinct, home of a tactical narcotics team in upper Manhattan, resulted in the system's adoption. The VTS allows an assistant district attorney in the downtown complaint room to interview police officers, complainants, and witnesses via the two-way video in the bus terminal. The traditional procedure required all parties to appear at the Criminal Court Building downtown to give statements pertinent to the arrest. After several complaints have been compiled, the defendants are transported to central booking in a minibus by two officers instead of individually by all arresting officers. Based on positive results, the District Attorney's Office submitted a request for proposals for 22 videoconferencing systems to handle approximately 30 percent of the borough's caseload, averaging 275 arrests daily. The system would link five Brooklyn precincts with the main complaint bureau. It should be operational by mid-1990.