[fastglass]

Maybe, maybe not. It's interesting to consider, because they wouldn't need an interpreter if everything was done through writing, which maybe they or others wouldn't want to do either.

This may be a little off topic, but, like, instead of just being able to film your encounter with police, you're able to just take pictures of the notes they hand you as a way of documenting your encounter. Not to say that's sufficient, but it's interesting to think about.

[egberts1]

Often times, written form of communication are denied to arrested folks as the narrow, generally cylindrical implement for writing, drawing, or marking, consisting of a thin rod of graphite, colored wax, or similar substance encased in wood or held in a mechanical holder, can be used as a weapon.

[franga2000]

Crayons? Those bendy pencils? A very thick and blunt pencil?? Finger paint??? Hell, give them a typewriter! How is this even remotely an excuse?

[egberts1]

Seen a typewriter as of late?

[franga2000]

Yes! Our municipality building has a dusty basement room full of them and there are a handful of companies still producing new ones (although expensive).

But even better, just get those <100$ ARM/baytrail laptops and have them boot straight into a kernel with no network stack and launch only Xorg and AbiWord.