Law Enforcement Voices Disapproval as Google Maps “Affect Public Safety”

There is constantly a back-and-forth conversation about policing and the law. Should police be hiding in order to enforce laws? On one side of the argument, there are people who think that police should be plainly visible. I guess that, at a certain point, they begin to feel like police hiding in order to issue traffic citations becomes a sort of revenue generator. On the other hand, though, the side of the argument that supports the way that police work says that the threat of them hiding should be enough to keep people on their toes and obey posted speed limits. Theoretically, this prevents speeding.

If they’re showing anything by their actions, it looks like Google is a proponent of the former. As some may have noticed, the company has not one but two mobile map applications. Their first was Google Maps. This is a traditional GPS-based map system that can give people turn by turn directions.

Another app under Google’s umbrella goes by the name of Waze. Waze is similar to Google Maps. However, it has taken on some different functions as well. For example, the app will allow users to report when there is a police officer running radar. This will then be pointed out on the map. It also takes the opportunity to advertise different things on the map to its users. By doing this, the company is able to monetize the information they gather and continue offering the free service.

Recently, though, Google decided to introduce some of Waze’s factors into Google Maps. Most notably, the app will now point out where speed traps are. The whole purpose of a speed trap us to catch people off-guard. Law-enforcement isn’t exactly happy with these developments. They insist that the move will instead affect public safety in a negative way. There was also push back against Waze. However, the implementation into Google Maps reaches a far bigger audience.

This is an ongoing legal debate that we’re sure is far from over. So far, though, these applications reserve the right to post information like this.