They did this on some other cop show in the 90s too, only instead of a copier it was a cellphone (which was still a pretty uncommon thing for people to have at the time). I think it was Law & Order but I'm not sure.
And one day it will be repeated as a smartphone app.
This version is special because of how dreary the rest of the series was. I don't think any other cop show comes close to using so much non-action to drive home the mental degeneration of its characters.
Listen, if your complaints about a complex, realistic police-show are that it depicts a dreary, non-active bureaucracy? Consider yourself a moron with pre-conceptions.