Traffic App 'Waze' Could Put Law Enforcement in Danger

Waze was designed as a community based app that connects drivers and alerts them of traffic and other important information out on the road.

However, the app is being looked at as a potential hazard to law enforcement, as it also allows users to give locations of police locations on the road.

According to 11Alive in Atlanta:

At the heart of this debate is the feature that allows drivers to share the locations of police officers they see on the streets. Some say it could help you avoid a speeding ticket or find an officer if you need help, but police are sounding the alarm. They believe these “Waze worries” could endanger officers. The allegation is that by giving criminals their locations, the app makes them targets.

More than 50 million people are sharing real-time traffic and road information on Waze. “Wazers” can alert other users to traffic jams, paving and road closures.

Portsmouth Police Chief Ed Hargis told 11Alive that Waze could put officers’ lives on the line “in a couple different ways.”

“One is the potential threat to the officers. You don’t know what you’re going to run into when you’re live on scene,” Hargis told 11Alive. “… It’s just another thing that we have to be concerned with.”