Following an experiment with NYPD officers, Google Glass could become a useful tool for law enforcement agencies nationwide.

The New York City’s Police Department is evaluating whether Google Glass is a decent fit for gathering intelligence on criminal activity. The department recently received several pairs of the modernist-looking specs to test out.

The news that the country’s largest police department is eagerly beta-testing Google’s products comes at a sensitive time for the company, given its entanglement in various intelligence-gathering efforts from spy agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Not that Google is happy about that: Google chairman Eric Schmidt blew a gasket when it was revealed that the NSA was routinely hacking into the company’s servers to spy on customers, as outlined in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

A spokesman for Google said the company was not working with law enforcement agencies on the project and that the NYPD likely acquired the glasses through the Google Glass Explorer program.

Read more at venturebeat.com.