Originally Posted by njbchbum

posh - my point is why would anyone ban emergency personnel from using a cell phone for business when they have been communicating by one device or another for years? the use of a cell phone for police/emergency communication is totally different from a private citizen calling in to the office for updates or a soccer mom calling to order a pizza for pick-up on the way home from practice or a couple of guys dishing the dirt on the girls they met at the bar the nite before!

do you really think that the police/emergency responders are cruising their beat and using the phone for other than police/emergency business? here in my town the phone records are reviewed every month [or maybe it is every quarter] for just that reason - to insure that the phone is being used for emergency communication and not personal business. as arrogant as some of the officers on our force can be - they are not willing to risk official reprimand from their commanding officer for misuse of official property!