NYPD Replacing Handwritten Memo Books with Mobile Phone App

Officers with the New York Police Department will soon be putting down their pens and setting aside their hefty department-issued memo books in favor of a new mobile phone app that they will use to keep a detailed log of their daily activities on patrol.

According to the New York Times , the department is retiring handwritten memo books by late February in a transition to an app on officers’ department-issued iPhones.

The data entered into the app will then be sent to a central database that officers and administrators can access for future reference.

The memo books that had been in use for more than a century are one of the most well-known icons of the New York Police Department, and for many officers they will be missed. For many retired officers, their log books—which they retain in their possession in case they are required for reference at a later date—are like a diary of their careers.

For others, the transition to the digital space marks a needed evolution for the agency, taking a couple of pounds of gear off their duty gear.