Oklahoma town provides real-time streaming from cop cars, free WiFi to residents

Traffic wardens over in the UK have been wielding handheld camcorders for well over a year now, but Ponca City, Oklahoma is making waves here in America with a slightly more sophisticated alternative. In conjunction with Honeywell, the town is implementing a broadband mesh network comprised of over 490 wireless nodes and gateways from Tropos Networks, and aside from providing free WiFi to some 30 square miles of residents, it's also hoping to use the abundant connectivity to help public safety. For instance, the city has installed wireless video cameras in police vehicles so "dispatchers and supervisors can monitor activities during traffic stops, and quickly deploy additional officers and resources if necessary." 'Course, that's just the official word -- everyone and their mother knows this is just the beginning of "C.O.P.S.: Live in Oklahoma."

[Via Slashdot, image courtesy of CanMag]

[rock99rock @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:58PM]

This is freakin awesome. COPS: Live? Would be the #1 show in the world.

[KAIKAI @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:58PM]

id watch it :D

[Yankees368 @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:59PM]

Actually, I bet it would be one of the most boring shows ever. Not much happens in the usual run of the mill traffic stop.

[Matt @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:04PM]

actually that would be boring ... watching a cop give about 20 speeding tickets :P

[KAIKAI @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:38PM]

@ matt
simalar to NASCAR
oMG a left turn
OMG nother one
ZOMG another one
well
its still makes shit loads of money :P

[zfurie @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:01PM]

World's Funniest Criminals would be #2

[mick @ Nov 23rd 2008 4:03PM]

at what point do you see any thing in this artical that there guna stream to anyone who wants to watch. here since ur to lazy to read past the headline ill paste it for you "the city has installed wireless video cameras in police vehicles so dispatchers and supervisors can monitor activities during traffic stops"

[klew @ Nov 23rd 2008 4:46PM]

it will become the world's biggest drinking game

[thedesolate1 @ Nov 23rd 2008 5:20PM]

Live from Dunkin Donuts! It will be perfect.
Free publicity anyone?

[Taylor @ Nov 24th 2008 1:02AM]

mick:

Maybe read the rest of it.

'everyone and their mother knows this is just the beginning of "C.O.P.S.: Live in Oklahoma."'

This is what is called a joke. A joke is when a person says something that is contrary to the truth for the purpose of humor.

[Unique Gift Ideas @ Nov 24th 2008 10:29AM]

I'd be all about this.

[Dylan @ Nov 23rd 2008 1:58PM]

I'm hoping they'd disable them during something important...like perhaps a hostage situation. I think if the captor(s) were to have twenty angles of the front of the building it would really work in their favor. They'd just need a laptop, the WiFi everywhere doesn't help either. I think this network would be better off encrypted.

[Samboini @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:21PM]

For all the fuckups any government may have, I would like to credit them with some modicum of common sense, thereby preventing such issues!

[taoprophet420 @ Nov 23rd 2008 4:06PM]

The network is encrypted. http://www.myponcacity.com/cms/City-Government/wifi/wifisecure.aspx

[davidz @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:03PM]

image courtesy of bad photojournalism

[Peter F @ Nov 24th 2008 5:09PM]

It's actually from an episode of Cops. They threw a bag of crack and weed out the window and they were being pulled over.

Seriously, I don't watch a lot of Cops...... ;-)

[Eddie @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:04PM]

Token black person getting nicked there!

[AlDeezy @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:07PM]

lol

[Brian @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:24PM]

LOL. So true.

Anyhow, I think most people failed to read the article. The live video will only stream to "dispatchers and supervisors," not to the intarwebs.

[Dylan @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:29PM]

Via WiFi? That seems secure.

[Bryan @ Nov 23rd 2008 7:38PM]

It's Ponca City, Oklahoma. The poor cop has probably never actually seen a black person before...

[fistpittingnork @ Nov 24th 2008 8:34AM]

You've obviously never been to Ponca City before. That poor black man has probably never seen a white person before.

[Game_playa @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:12PM]

GO UBN2 GO!!

[ethana2 @ Nov 23rd 2008 4:56PM]

What?

[Jake Pratt @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:19PM]

Believe it or not not all of us in Oklahoma have cows and ride horses :)

[lowdef @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:43PM]

...but lots of you still do.

[Sean @ Nov 23rd 2008 9:49PM]

The majority of the population has never lived or worked on a farm, but most of the real-estate in the state is still farm land.

Go figure.

I get really tired of people hating on Oklahoma. I love this place... all we really need now is some decent internet.

[Adam S @ Nov 23rd 2008 10:54PM]

I live in a teepee.

[E dub @ Nov 24th 2008 1:51AM]

We need Democrats too. Desperately. I'm tired of getting sneers for my Obama bracelet.

[Ghen @ Nov 24th 2008 7:26AM]

Democrats like living on the coasts for the available recreation. I have at least 5 amusement parks within 2 hours drive as well as 2 beaches and Atlantic City. Out in Oklahoma the only thing to do for fun is play the terrorism drinking game with Fox News.

[The Dude @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:21PM]

That's just plain ign'ant, dawg.

[Zakk @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:30PM]

Bad boys, bad boys
Whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do
When they come for you

[iEye @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:32PM]

This is the way it should be. All arrests should be on camera. That way there are no questions on the events.

Now if we could only get this into passenger cars, whenever there is an accident the video evidence will be examined by insurance companies. The person responsible pays and the other gets the car repaired with no increase in premiums.

[TxdoHawk @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:38PM]

Good idea, but I can't wait to hear the excuses when some cop goes on a roid rage and all of a sudden the video isn't available.

[Samboini @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:06PM]

What, you mean your iPhone doesn't natively do this?

[BluesK1d @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:59PM]

@TxdoHawk

Huh? I don't know of a single agency where A) all contacts aren't already recorded by at LEAST audio and B) that evidence is not editable by the officers or anyone at the law enforcement agency for that matter. Also, there are these new things called drug tests and background investigations. I get pretty tired of d-bags always accusing law enforcement of misbehavior when it simply isn't the case. Too many people don't realize that local municipalities go way out of their way to ensure scummy people DON'T get hired. They end up costing them millions of dollars in the end.

[thomasbahon @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:34PM]

Who'll sale cops wifi sniffer first?

[james @ Nov 24th 2008 1:26AM]

english dude, english.

[JK @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:36PM]

This is exactly the kind of vehicle mesh system the founder of Zipcar has been talking about for at least 2 years. Awesome.

[ace587 @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:36PM]

that picture needs some caps

Like "Come to me beeyotch"

[JK @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:37PM]

Sorry, here's the URL to her mesh network TED talk

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/robin_chase_on_zipcar_and_her_next_big_idea.html

[Saad Rabia @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:40PM]

The Meizu M8 is out: http://www.meizu.com/cn/m8.html

For fucks sake Engadget, put the news up; people should know about such thing.

[iEye @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:02PM]

Not only that, buy when you buy a 16GB Zune, you get a 4GB Zune for free... so 2 for $179 CAD!

+1 for the M* news

[smilgy @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:41PM]

And all I have to do is carry a Wi-Fi signal blocker with me and nothing will be streamed back.

[saggymunkybawlz @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:54PM]

I thought the same thing at first smilgy however though it may not be streaming to their supervisors and dispatch, it will still be recording in the car. All that needs to be done is take the disc out of the car and play it @ the office.

[tbone @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:46PM]

ya i hope the stereotype isn't true, and the black guy doesn't shoot the white cop, and then starts a rap career.

[Rekit @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:56PM]

Seems like a complete violation of privacy to me.

[Rekit @ Nov 23rd 2008 2:58PM]

...but now after actually reading more than just the headline, I see what they're doing.

I'm an idiot.

[)law( @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:04PM]

Corrupt cops and crack rocks

[muzikjock @ Nov 23rd 2008 3:08PM]

Great. guess who gets to finance this great project! wow. I always wanted to watch the updated "Truman show". Only the stars of the show are you and me. and instead of some big wig producer, we the tax payers get to be executive producers of "the new Truman show" I wouldn't waste my time. I can see it now. Jim Carey and Co. suing for copyright infringements only to try to jump on the band wagon. Business as usual in the great USA. Its all coming together now. Soon no corner of the earth will be hid from anyone. Just in time for the first President in the US to usher in the New Socialist Republic of the North American Union. You wanted change. You got change.