Jamais Cascio picked up this tidbit from the State of the City address in NYC.

This year, we'll begin a revolutionary innovation in crime-fighting: Equipping "911" call centers to receive digital images and videos New Yorkers send from cell phones and computers something no other city in the world is doing.

If you see a crime in progress or a dangerous building condition you'll be able to transmit images to 911, or online to NYC.GOV. And we'll start extending the same technology to 311 to allow New Yorkers to step forward and document non-emergency quality of life concerns holding City agencies accountable for correcting them quickly and efficiently.

Jamais has talked about the Participatory Panopticon we are creating with emerging digital tools. (I have talked about his before on my blog - tracking the torture taxi, Condi sousveillance)

This 911/311 use is "also an example of how a participatory panopticon society can be embraced by traditional channels of authority and social control."