Where Did All That E911 Money Go?

Fri, Apr 18th 2003 2:46am — Mike Masnick

For years, New York has been collecting monthly fees on mobile phone plans that was designated to go towards implementing the E911 system that would let police determine the location of a mobile phone caller. In the wake of a recent boating accident in NY where a caller on a mobile couldn't let police know where he was, people are starting to ask what happened to all that money? It turns out that the vast majority of it was "diverted" to other uses within police departments. So, now, as we wait for the E911 systesm that have been "mandated" it turns out that the money earmarked to build the system was put into "departmental dry cleaning bills, ballpoint pens, travel, car leases, grounds maintenance for precincts and winter boots".

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3 Comments

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First Poster, 18 Apr 2003 @ 2:46am

Wow
Gotta love those crooked cops.
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DS, 6 Feb 2009 @ 8:13am

Re: Wow
Crooked Cops? More like Crooked Gov't.
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NC, 6 Feb 2009 @ 7:11pm

RE: WOW
For what it's worth, the E911 funds in North Carolina are restricted by state law to ONLY be used for activities that support the receiving and dispatching of 911 calls. There's a 911 board that provides oversight for how the funds are being spent. Perhaps the problem in NY isn't the local gov'ts diverting the cash to supplement strapped operational budgets, but NY state gov's lack of a governance structure for the E911 program. You can't expect your kids to stay out of the cookie jar unless you tell them it's off limits to begin with.

/rambling diatribe off
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