LAPD fear criminals are co-opting Google Waze to track police
The Los Angeles Police Department has written to Google to voice fears that city criminals are utilising Google’s satnav app Waze to track officers on patrol and so avoid arrest.
Force chief Charlie Beck points to a December incident in which two New York police officers were killed. The killer, it was later learned, had used Waze in the weeks leading up to the attack.
Some 50m people worldwide have now downloaded the app, using it to send notifications of traffic jams, speed cameras and accidents. Google points out that this actually serves to assist police by reducing congestion and encouraging people to drive more carefully.
Adopting a different viewpoint however Beck warned that such features could be ‘muisused’ by those with criminal intent.
He said: "I am confident your company did not intend the Waze app to be a means to allow those who wish to commit crimes to use the unwitting Waze community as their lookouts for the location of police officers."