Wednesday, January 20, 2016

A new way to report quality of life problems


From PIX11:

Abandoned cars, noise complaints, garbage and crime are problems in the city.

Neighbors report thousands of issues every month to NYC 311. The NYPD is also directly seeking community ideas.

At 6 precincts, NYPD is testing a program based on software from IdeaScale. Since the late Fall in the 113th Precinct in Southeast Queens, the site for neighborhoods in and around St. Albans has registered nearly 200 users and processed about 50 cases.

Sergeant Widy Geritano says it's similar to a social media site. Members from the community can sign up and anonymously write about issues they observe. Officers use their handheld devices to access the site.

10 comments:

(sarc) said...

It always starts out great.

This will stretch our already overburdened police force, dragging down response times.

Then the uneducated masses sign up and will flood and overwhelm the system with total nonsense...

Anonymous said...

Say what you want about the Police Department, but it seems to be the only city agency to ever actually answer their phones. Maybe not always, but a hell of a lot more than other city agencies ever do. How about we start expecting all those other agencies to handle their share of quality of life complaints, instead of always dropping everything on the NYPD's shoulders.

Anonymous said...

We already have 311 that funnels requests directly to each precinct. Our officers don't have the time to read blog posts while on duty trying to protect the city.

Joe Moretti said...

(sarc) said...

It always starts out great.

This will stretch our already overburdened police force, dragging down response times.

Then the uneducated masses sign up and will flood and overwhelm the system with total nonsense...

-------------------------------------

That is nonsense, because if you had to file such complaints thru that awful 311 and it pertained to NYPD, that would have to respond anyway. I have used this system since it's inception and I think it works well and the response time is quick and you see the results as opposed to the nonsense with 311.

Anonymous said...

'Then the uneducated masses sign up and will flood and overwhelm the system with total nonsense..'

Not the uneducated. Millenials who grew up in the Church of the Perpetually Offended and old people who are annoyed by every aspect of daily life that intrudes into their routine.

That is how we get people sued for smoking in their homes when another person can smell it two floors away.

Anonymous said...

"Hello 9-1-1 " I have a homeless problem, how fast can you get here??

Anonymous said...

Some of these comments sound down right stupid. If it will help a neighborhood that is filled with junk/stolen cars, loud music etc.. and this site can help stop them. Then I say good for the NYPD for at least trying to do something to keep track of these complaints.

Anonymous said...

Not enough cops for 911 calls. There will be a mass exodus due to retirements, going to better paying depts and when the new Sanitation list is out, they will be heading there. The do more with less management style has come to the breaking point. Unhappy overworked cops means an unhappy citizenry.

Anonymous said...

I have been participating in the 109's IdeaScale project for a few months after making a quality of life complaint and they directed me to it. While it was effective at first, the "moderator" has stopped responding in the last few months, with the exception of moving legitimate complaints from the "concern" category to the "spam" category. The only way to see this move is via email. May ideas that have been addressed have recently been deleted from the discussion, so there is no way for new or even current members to see what has been addressed, or what problems and solutions have happened in our community. On the positive side, it's all anonymous. The only participant that isn't named "community member" is the moderator, so there is no name calling or shame, or fear of your neighbors knowing you're complaining about them. Negatively, the interface is clunky and doesn't navigate intuitively.

Anonymous said...

It is pretty handy. You get a copy in your email. It can be used in court.