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JusticeMobile App Gives Officers Direct Access to Criminal Information

A new app tested by the San Francisco Police Department will soon be available across the state of California.

California’s peace officers will soon have another crime-fighting tool to reach for, a smartphone. On Monday, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr launched the JusticeMobile app from the California Department of Justice (DOJ).

The app gives law enforcement agents access to state and federal criminal justice information, when previously they would have to use a phone or radio to contact other personnel with the needed information.

“JusticeMobile is a quantum leap forward for public and peace officer safety, and it demonstrates our commitment to facilitating the adoption of new technology by law enforcement,” Harris said in a statement.

The app was tested by 600 San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) officers and will soon be available across the state, including 3,600 Los Angeles Police Department officers.

“Talk about loving when a plan comes together… That vision, coupled with the tenacity of SFPD CIO Susan Giffin and her award-winning team, San Francisco will be a safer place because it’s a smarter place,” Suhr said in the announcement.

The JusticeMobile app allows officers to check vehicle registrations, driver’s licenses, criminal history, wanted persons, mental health alerts, firearms registrations and serial numbers. It also employs strong password requirements, a Virtual Private Network requiring two-factor authorization and encryption.

This story originally appeared on Techwire.net.

Noelle Knell is the executive editor for e.Republic, responsible for setting the overall direction for e.Republic’s editorial platforms, including Government Technology, Governing, Industry Insider, Emergency Management and the Center for Digital Education. She has been with e.Republic since 2011, and has decades of writing, editing and leadership experience. A California native, Noelle has worked in both state and local government, and is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, with majors in political science and American history.