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Live Video Chat Comes to California Police Department

The Redwood City police department is likely the first law enforcement agency in the nation to offer the service to citizens in non-emergency situations.

BY: | Redwood City, Calif. | July 26, 2012



The Redwood City, Calif., police department recently launched a three-month pilot program to allow residents to communicate with police officers and personnel via live video chat, reports PoliceOne.com. The program is intended to handle any non-emergency situations like filing complaints, updating information on a police report, and answering citizens' questions. Citizen callers can access the program through the department's website and will speak to personnel who have been assigned to modified duty due to injuries or other reasons. During the pilot, the service will be available Monday through Thursday during normal business hours. But if community interest is high, then the department will likely expand the program to the evening hours and on weekends. Users aren't required to have their own computer camera on, the chats are not recorded and the police cannot trace the call, according to PoliceOne.com.


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Brian Peteritas

Brian Peteritas is a GOVERNING contributor.

E-mail: bpeteritas@governing.com
Twitter: @governing

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