* * * * *
                                        
                            Unintended consequences
                                        
I first heard about ICE (In Case of Emergency) numbers from Spring [1] as I
was looking through her cell phone for a particular number and came across
such an entry.

It's a nice idea, but … 

> I received that e-mail [about ICE numbers —Editor] forwarded by another
> officer who happened to be in the office with me when I opened my e-mail
> account. I read the e-mail, paused for a second, turned and asked, “Didn't
> you tell me once that it's best to keep your cell phone keypad locked?”
> 
> “Yes,” answers he, “If someone steals my cell, I don't want them to be able
> to access all that personal information.”
> 
> “Huh,” sez I, and returned to vetting my e-mail. A couple of minutes later,
> I hear quiet beeping behind me. Without turning around, I ask: “Unlocking
> your keypad, or removing the ICE number?”
> 
> “Oh, be quiet,” responds he.
> 
> ICE numbers are great—if you leave your phone unlocked.
> 

“In Case of Emergency [2]”

In another post, LawDog [3] mentions another potential problem with cell
phones—people don't remember phone numbers any more:

> Every day, someone will be booked into our jail, who when it comes time for
> those famous Two Completed Phone Calls, tells the officer, “I want to call
> Soandso.”
> 
> Officer sez, “Okay, what's that number?”
> 
> Bookee, in a stricken whisper, “It's in my cell phone.”
> 
> Which, naturally, has already been sealed inside a plastic property bag,
> that being locked inside a property box.
> 

“Cell Phone Memories [4]”

Heh.

[1] http://www.springdew.com/
[2] http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/06/in-case-of-
[3] http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/
[4] http://thelawdogfiles.blogspot.com/2008/06/cell-phone-

Email Sean Conner at sean@conman.org

.