We’re gradually learning that smart home devices can be quite valuable for police. Following a recent case in which Amazon handed over data from its Echo device to police investigating a murder, a smart device called the police when a couple was allegedly involved in a violent domestic dispute. [See correction below] 
 
 According to ABC News, officers were called to a home outside Albuquerque, New Mexico this week when a smart device called 911 and the operator heard a confrontation in the background. Police say that Eduardo Barros was house-sitting at the residence with his girlfriend and their daughter. Barros allegedly pulled a gun on his girlfriend when they got into an argument and asked her: “Did you call the sheriffs?” A smart device in the home apparently heard “call the sheriffs,” and proceeded to call the sheriffs. 
 
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 A SWAT team arrived at the home and after negotiating for hours, they were able to take Barros into custody. Police tell ABC News that the man’s girlfriend was injured but did not need to visit a hospital. The couple’s daughter was safe and unharmed. 
 
 “The unexpected use of this new technology to contact emergency services has possibly helped save a life,” Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales III said in a statement. 
 
 Barros was charged with possession of a firearm or destructive device by a felon, aggravated battery against a household member, aggravated assault against a household member and false imprisonment. 
 
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 While smart home technology is the hero in the case, it will certainly leave some people uneasy. It’s a clear reminder that smart home devices are always listening. We don’t know what data, if any, was recorded by the Amazon Echo that was involved in the December murder case. But police felt confident enough that it may have recorded audio of the incident to seek a warrant. 
 
 In a different incident in January, a local TV news broadcast involving a dollhouse reportedly triggered multiple Amazon Echo devices in the area to start ordering dollhouses. It’s easy to imagine police getting tired of being called to citizen’s homes every time they watch the latest episode of Law and Order. 
 
 Correction: ABC News has amended and editor’s note to its story clarifying that the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department did not specify the type of smart device that called them to the home. An earlier version of this post cited ABC’s story and claimed a Google Home called police. 
 
 
 
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 [ABC News via All That Is Interesting] 
 
 

 In millions of homes across the country, Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant, Alexa, is listening. And whether you want to or not, she’s ready to play. 
 
 
 
 According to San Diego’s XETV-TDT, the trouble started on Thursday, when the station aired a story about a 6-year-old girl who reportedly bought a $170 dollhouse by asking her family’s Alexa-enabled Amazon Echo, “Can you play dollhouse with me and get me a dollhouse?” 
 
 “I loved the little girl’s take on it,” said anchor Jim Patton at the time. “‘Alexa ordered me a dollhouse.’” 
 
 That, apparently, was enough to prompt complaints from viewers “all over San Diego,” who claimed their own Alexa devices tried to place orders for dollhouses in response. 
 
 While Echo devices have voice ordering turned on by default, Amazon noted in response to the initial story that it can be turned off in Alexa’s settings or protected with a confirmation code. The company also offered free returns on any accidental physical order. 
 
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 Currently, Alexa doesn’t have a voice recognition system to identify whether the speaker is an authorized user. When it comes to a children pursuing their desires, however, there may not be any system secure enough. Just last month, another 6-year-old placed her sleeping mother’s thumb on a smartphone, confirming an order for $250 in Pokémon toys. 
 
 [XETV-TDT]
– "Did you call the sheriffs?" An ever-listening smart home gadget recorded the suspect of a domestic assault saying those words while house-sitting with his girlfriend and her daughter. And it took them quite literally. ABC News reports that the device (the type isn't specified) contacted local authorities of an Albuquerque, NM, suburb during an altercation between Eduardo Barros and his girlfriend. A county sheriff’s spokesperson says Barros reportedly took out a gun and threatened to kill his girlfriend during the dispute. The device mistook Barros’ question for a command and alerted authorities. They were able to safely remove the girlfriend and daughter from the home, and after an hours-long standoff, took Barros into custody. “This amazing technology definitely helped save a mother and her child from a very violent situation," county sheriff Manuel Gonzales III said in a statement to ABC News. Barros is being held without bond and has been charged with false imprisonment, aggravated battery and assault, and possession of a firearm by a felon. While this instance shows an unexpected upside to having smart devices record in homes, Gizmodo notes that constant monitoring still makes some feel “uneasy," not to mention some of the foibles that can occur, like accidental purchases. (A murder case potentially recorded by the suspect’s smart device opens up a whole other question: does the Amazon Echo have First Amendment rights?)