There’s plenty of criticism aimed at Windows phones these days, and some people claim that the platform, the Lumia series, or even both are completely dead because neither developers nor OEMs want to invest in this side of the Microsoft’s business.

But if you’re asking the NYPD, Windows phones are absolutely brilliant tools that can help them fight crimes in a way never seen before. Apps installed on their Windows Phone devices allow police officers to respond to 911 calls much faster than ever because all details are presented on the phone’s display even before a dispatcher sends an alert.

Statistics provided on Tuesday reveal that 7,000 cops using Windows Phone devices looked into a total of 29,000 911 alerts and responded to 300 accidents reports and 60 complaints involving crimes or requests for assistance.

“Windows phones are as essential as a patrol car”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Information Technology Jessica Tisch emphasizes that smartphones have become essential tools for police officers, claiming that they’re now at least as critical as the patrol car.

“In the first four and a half months of this year, response times to crimes in progress in New York City are down 12.6% - to lows not seen in over half a decade,” she is quoted as saying.

“We're shaving over a minute off of these average response times. And, somewhat more impressively, for critical crimes in progress, we're also down nearly 12% - to 4 minutes and 26 seconds, from just over 5 minutes at the same time last year.”

This isn’t the first time when the NYPD praises Windows phones for their efficiency in fighting crimes and responding to 911 calls faster than before. At this point, all 36,000 NYPD cops are equipped with such smartphones running dedicated software to access emergency calls and to access information before a dispatcher gets in touch.

“This app has completely changed the way we direct police resources to respond to 911 calls. Now, officers get all of the information about the jobs they have to respond to direct to their smartphones. No need any more to wait on a radio dispatcher to direct them to the job,” Tisch continues.

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to believe in Windows phones, and Microsoft’s mobile platform has declined to no less than 0.7 percent market share, despite the company’s reiterated commitment to keeping it alive. There are hopes for bigger adoption in early 2017, when the software giant should introduce a new premium model called the Surface Phone.