Stoughton Police Vehicles Equipped with QR Codes

Residents with smart phones will be able to visit the Stoughton Police Department’s website just by holding their phone up to a police cruiser.

Yeah, there’s an app for that.

These barcodes are a type of QR code (Quick Response). By simply using a QR code reader app on your smart phone, your phone can scan the barcode, process it, and then bring you directly to the company or organization’s website. 

A handful of cruisers are already equipped with barcodes, and soon all SPD vehicles will be, Executive Officer Robert Devine said.

This isn’t Joe Friday’s police scanner. Heck, it isn’t even Paul Shastany’s as he was climbing the ranks in the Natick and Framingham Police Departments, before becoming Stoughton’s Police Chief in April of 2010.

“For years we have been operating as 1980s police officers [technology wise],” Shastany said.

These barcodes, however, are a “subtle message” that the SPD is “embracing technology,” Shastany said. In fact, Shastany and Devine do not know of another police department, near or far, utilizing this technology.

Devine said it was a great tool for “connectivity.”

Shastany and Devine said they hope the barcodes will make it easier for residents to submit crime tips or leave comments or feedback for the Stoughton Police.

Shastany said it was an effort to “deliver as much info as possible.”

The Police Department already has an active Facebook page, and has plans to further improve its website. The QR Code is another way to reach the SPD.

Barcodes like these are seen in malls, magazines, and even on the back of coffee mugs.

“It’s the way the world’s going,” Devine said. “It’s something that made sense. Everyone has a smart phone…Cruisers are our most visible piece of equipment.”