By Roberto Kampfner
Staff Writer
The Waze app has drawn negative press and public scrutiny as of late due to the allegations that the app was used to target police; however, the app merely provides a beneficial platform for civilians to increase their travel efficiency and should not be regarded in such a contentious manner.
Waze is a Google-owned global positioning system and traffic app that strives to help drivers cut down on the time it takes to reach their destination by spotting moderate to severe traffic, speed traps, police cars and traffic cameras.
App users are able to communicate and self-report the aforementioned traffic controls through the Waze app platform to increase travel efficiency. The app also has a feature that allows users to see general police locations.
This general estimate of police locations does not endanger the police officers, contrary to the beliefs of the Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck. Beck stated that the app poses a danger to the lives of police officers in the United States, but because the app does not have an exact, real-time representation of police locations due to the self-reported nature of the information, this would be a highly unfeasible method of criminal tracking.
This distinction is an important one to note, for the majority of the criticism is centered around the app’s unjust reporting of police whereabouts. The public should not regard this reporting as a detriment to society, for it is both a perfectly legal and completely benevolent action meant to improve motorist efficiency.
This notion that civilian knowledge of police whereabouts is a detriment to society only establishes domestic reliances on fear tactics to increase adherence to the law. Instead, the Waze app provides a positive influence on society by cutting down each individual’s travel time, which could potentially reduce the stress to run lights, speed and perform other illegal maneuvers to make it to a given destination on time.
Furthermore, others argue that the use of the Waze app for its original purpose challenges the established methods of enforcing safe driving practices. By providing drivers with police whereabouts, critics argue, police will no longer be a viable means of ensuring motorist safety; however, the Waze app does precisely the opposite.
Currently, many drivers are only on artificially good behavior when they are visually confronted with a police car on the road or highway. Given that the app provides a comparatively large general vicinity of law enforcement vehicles, drivers will be incentivized to be on good behavior over larger areas.
In summation, the police forces of the U.S. have wrongfully condemned a platform that helps the public and are lobbying for support against an app that poses little threat.
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