A story in this week’s New York Post astonished me. Titled “Typewrite & Wrong,” the piece revealed how the NYPD recently spent $1 million on typewriters.

Typewriters. In the year 2009.

In the NYPD’s defense, a commenter noted the department’s prudence for not wasting money on technology its cops didn’t know how to use.

In a subsequent article on CIO.com, writer Thomas Wailgum detailed the department’s efforts to update its technology, and noted that change, especially at the NYPD, is slow — hence the embarrassingly outdated purchase. In the NYPD’s defense, a commenter noted the department’s prudence for not wasting money on technology its cops didn’t know how to use.

While I agree that investing in technology and not teaching people how to use it is a gigantic waste of money, I don’t think the NYPD should continue to shell out money for crusty old technology that is useless for modern crimefighting.

Think about it this way: If a hospital decided to buy Windows 95 instead of a newer version, because training all of its staff would be too great an undertaking, what do you think the patients would say? And how do you think using such dated technology would affect the hospital’s ability to give patients the best care?

Simply put, it wouldn’t fly. So why does it at the NYPD, an institution that is responsible for the well-being of one of the world’s largest cities? I’m baffled.

I know the NYPD is trying, but buying $1 million worth of typewriters is a step back. Easing into new technology, and training your people to use it — now that’s feasible. Change hurts, but it’s necessary. (Jen Darr)

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Jenny Sweeney Rants CIO, CIO.com, New York Post, NYPD, Thomas Wailgum, typewriters, Windows 95