By Chris Fracescani
Reuters.com
Bill Bratton, the high-profile police commissioner who has run three of America’s largest police forces, is preparing to launch the first comprehensive social media network for police officers — a kind of Facebook for cops.
The network, known as BlueLine, will be launched globally at the International Association of Police Chiefs annual conference in Philadelphia in October. Combining the most popular user functions of a number of leading social media sites, BlueLine is being billed by Bratton as the first secure network for cops. It’s also a safer alternative for a younger generation of officers who Bratton says share a shocking amount of information on public networks.
BlueLine is part of a growing trend in high-tech information-sharing among law enforcement agencies that proponents say is producing a force-multiplying effect on crime-fighting in an era of dwindling police budgets and manpower. The collaboration enables better communication between different jurisdictions and helps police identify patterns of criminality.
Full Story: Former police chief Bratton launches a social network for cops