Great user interface
(Still) Very inappropriate
In fact, the developer acknowledges the app takes FHP incident information and enhances its accessibility with “color-coded mapping, filtering, notifications, logging, and other functionality.” That enhanced accessibility is precisely the concerns raised in the review.
Whether the underlying information originates from a public source, does not eliminate the potential officer safety implications of gathering it, mapping it, sending notifications about it, and providing DIRECTIONS to those locations. Think about it for a moment - why would a general member of the public need directions TO an incident rather than directions AROUND an incident? You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking - exactly the reasons for the concerns raised.
The issue is not whether the app secretly tracks an individual Trooper’s GPS coordinates. The issue is whether its functionality makes it easier for someone to determine where troopers are likely to be in relation to those locations.
It does. That’s why my original officer safety concern remains unchanged.
The developer is a member of the media so that should shed a little light on things.
Response from developer
We want to address this review because it makes several claims about FHP Notifier that are simply inaccurate. FHP Notifier does not track individual Florida Highway Patrol troopers, nor does the app receive or generate a trooper’s personal location. The locations displayed in the app are incident locations provided directly by the Florida Highway Patrol through its Live Traffic Crash and Road Condition Report system. We do not determine where troopers are located, and we do not independently track their movements. The exact same incident information is publicly available directly from the Florida Highway Patrol. Anyone can access the same information themselves through the official FHP website at: https://www.flhsmv.gov/florida-highway-patrol/traffic-incidents/. FHP Notifier simply takes information that Florida Highway Patrol makes publicly available and presents it in a more accessible format with logging capabilities. We add features such as color coded mapping, filtering, notifications, logging, and other functionality around that publicly available incident data. The underlying incident information and locations originate with the Florida Highway Patrol. The map and directions functionality is provided for the reported incident, not for locating or tracking an individual trooper. If a trooper happens to be responding to or working an incident, that does not mean FHP Notifier is tracking that trooper. We have no system that monitors individual officers or troopers. We take officer safety extremely seriously. However, it is important to distinguish between an application tracking law-enforcement personnel and an application displaying publicly available incident information supplied by the law-enforcement agency itself. FHP Notifier does the latter. We also cannot independently change or fabricate the locations supplied through FHP’s system. If the Florida Highway Patrol reports an incident at a particular location, that is the information made available to our system and subsequently displayed to our users. FHP Notifier is an independent, unofficial application and is not affiliated with or operated by the Florida Highway Patrol. Our role is to take the information FHP publicly provides and make it easier for the public to access, understand, and receive notifications about.
Great app with accuracy
Genuinely useful
The information comes directly from FHP’s public traffic-incident data, which is also available through the FHP website.
For me, the value is simply having that information presented in a convenient way so I can stay aware of what’s happening on the roads and make better decisions about my travel.