SafeStop is proud to announce our official partnership with the West Hollywood Sheriff's Department and the City of West Hollywood. Come join our movement to de-escalate traffic stops, adding a new tool to the community's modern tool box. Download our app today@WHDLASD @WeHoCity pic.twitter.com/inlfd7AGI4

— SafeStop (@SafeStopTraffic) September 20, 2023

When L.A. County Sheriff’s Department deputies pulls you over for a traffic violation, they won’t have to approach your vehicle immediately if you have a new app installed.

Now, when a deputy has pulled you over, you have the option of connecting with the deputy first through face-to-face video chat via SafeStop, a smart phone app best known for letting parents monitor their children’s school bus routes.

The department’s X page describes SafeStop as part of a “movement to de-escalate traffic stops, adding a new tool to the community’s modern tool box.” An accompanying video depicts a driver running a stop sign and being pulled over by a sheriff. The visibly anxious driver then opens the app, which connects him with the deputy, who introduces himself from a distance and puts the driver at ease before approaching his vehicle in person.

[Sounds good … in theory. In practice, opening up your phone to law enforcement through an app might create some privacy issues, or at least some privacy concerns. The people who might be inclined to trust that kind of access are also not likely to be the people who could create the higher-tension stops, so it’s not clear whether this would even address the root causes. Even for misunderstandings not based on any criminal intent, those usually get created from a lack of trust between citizens and law enforcement, and citizens that don’t trust law enforcement are not going to download this app. — Ed]