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NYPD Unveils New High-Tech Crime Stoppers Van

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The New York Police Department has added another high-tech tool to help combat crime.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton unveiled a new Crime Stoppers van, which has video screens built into the sides of it.

The van is part of a new initiative called "Your City. Your Call," CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported.

NYPD Unveils New, High-Tech Crime Stoppers Van

The $90,000, state-of-the-art van was donated by the New York City Police Foundation.

The two large, external monitors can display photos and videos at or near crime scenes.

"A specific benefit is the idea of having this right at the scene of a crime, and being able to push out, very quickly, information to the public," Bratton said. "Even after the crime has occurred, for hours thereafter.

NYPD Unveils New High-Tech Crime Stoppers Van

"The video is no help unless someone and sees something," Bratton told reporters, including WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.

"This video piece right here will go a long way," said Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce. "So you can imagine the next night, or even on the same day, this van pulling up, showing images that we just downloaded from nearby cameras to a community that walks by there every day. That's the point of this. We expect great things from it."

It's the first Crime Stoppers van of its kind in New York City, Sanchez reported, though the NYPD hopes to add more to their fleet.

The first stop was the 28th Precinct in Harlem, where the monitors revealed videos and photos of suspects in four separate crimes, 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa reported. The vehicle will be in Queens on Tuesday night to try to help solve the Sunday murder of local rapper Lionel Pickens, better known by his stage name Chinx.

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