Tuesday, July 14, 2009

NYPD typewriters

Remember the All in the Family episode in which Archie unwittingly insults a police officer and is made to wait while the slowest typist in the precinct pecks out a report? Typewriters are still in use in the NYPD:

New York Police Department officials said the city is spending nearly $1 million to purchase and maintain typewriters for the police force.

City officials signed a $982,269 contract last year with New Jersey typewriter manufacturer Swintec for the purchase of manual and electric typewriters during the next three years and last month the city inked a $99,570 deal with New York's Afax Business Machines for maintenance on the typing machines, the New York Post reported Monday.

NYPD sources said the vast majority of the typewriters are for use by police.

Most of the city's arrest forms have been computerized, but property and evidence vouchers printed on carbon-paper forms still require the use of typewriters.
Carbon-paper forms!

The Swintec site is worth a look. No carbon-paper forms for sale, but you will find clear typewriters ("especially designed for inmate use") and a $1678 Word Processing System that boasts "60K Large Working Memory" and "Unlimited Document Storage on 3 1/2" Floppy Disks."

comments: 3

Anonymous said...

I didn't realize that typewriters were still even being made! At our school we occasionally run across some form that needs to be actually typed, and we have ONE vintage machine locked away in a closet that we drag out for those rare occasions where we can't do something with a computer.

Michael Leddy said...

I'm slightly amused that the book-order forms at my college still say PLEASE TYPE. But if I were given a clear typewriter with which to do so, I'd use it.

Rob said...

Ok, I kinda want a clear typewriter.