[howeyc]

Yes that is a real criticism against Waze. The thought is that the "show where the cops are" feature can be used by those who wish to assassinate cops (by finding them when they are alone I guess).

The obvious conclusion being that the feature must be removed (obvious to a certain Orange country sheriff at least). http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/28/382013185/off...

[nobleach]

There is a movement (it's currently trending on Facebook - so there are plenty articles to read there) that is trying to force Google to remove the offending data. The problem is, to anyone's knowledge, there hasn't been a single case of "officer assault" linked to Waze data.

It does sound silly, as cops are not hard to find. I seriously doubt a would be cop killer needs to consult an app when looking for a cop to kill.

[digler990]

> cops are not hard to find.

IIRC they even have a common phone number to summon them.

[simias]

That's not saying that "80% of Waze users are cop killers" though. Just that some people could use it to locate cops in order to attack them.

I don't know if that makes really sense but it's much less outrageous than what the OP implied.

[JelteF]

I think what the OP implied is that things will always be used by criminals for other purposes than intended.

[Alupis]

I think it's more likely to be used on the commonplace to avoid areas with police -- either for the traffic ticket dodger, or for mugger's, home invader's, etc...

[innguest]

> feature can be used by those who wish to assassinate cops

Are you trying to get a government job as propagandist and fear-monger?

[theorique]

No he's describing the reasons that the police spokesmen are presenting as to why Waze should remove the police observation data.