Subject: [NEXTEL-1] City to boost police technology

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 23:29:32 -0500

City to boost police technology
Times-Enterprise, GA - Mar 25, 2003
By Julie A. Blakley

THOMASVILLE -- More people means more
crime and more calls to the 911 center. To
compensate, the city can either hire more
dispatchers or let technology do its share of the
dirty work. The decision has been made, and the
city is about to take one more step into the future.

By mid-summer, a Motorola Mobile Data Terminal
will be installed in each police cruiser -- 55 in all.
The terminals and the infrastructure that will make
the whole system work will cost the city $473,000,
an unbudgeted amount council members have
agreed to borrow.

Does the tag number match the car? Is the car
stolen? Is the occupant of the vehicle wanted in
another state? Does the driver have a valid driver's
license? The system will initially link officers with
state and national crime computers which will allow
them to get this information and more with the click
of a button. Having instantaneous access to the
information, said Thomasville Police Chief David
Huckstep, will help officers do their jobs better and
prepare them for potentially dangerous situations.

Currently, officers radio in tag and driver's license
numbers. Dispatchers access the crime computers
and radio the information back to the officers. This
process can take time and allow an officer to
unknowingly step in harm's way. The new system
will eliminate the need for a middleman in these
instances, said Huckstep, and will increase
efficiency while freeing up the voice communication
network for emergencies.

Huckstep said the computers aren't coming cheap
-- each costs $5,550 -- but that the investment will
pay off in the end by keeping down the number of
employees needed. The 911 center receives more
than 2,000 calls in an average week, he said.

Software will be added in future years, said
Huckstep, which will give officers more tools with
which to do their jobs. They will eventually be able
to transmit reports to supervisors from their patrol
cars and will have access to dispatch information.
They also will be able to transmit data from car to
car or from headquarters to cars and vice versa and
will have the ability to receive photographs of
wanted or missing persons. A photograph, said
Huckstep, gives a clearer picture than a text or
voice description.

"If you have the picture, you can obviously see the
advantage there," Huckstep said.

The terminals also will one day have mapping
capabilities. Officers will have access to a database
containing maps of major public buildings. These
maps could help officers devise an evacuation plan
or access the layout of a building in the event of a
hostage situation or bomb scare, said Huckstep.
City council member David Lewis said this will be
one of the more exciting benefits of the system and
praised Huckstep for his work with the police
department.

"I'm pleased that the chief of police is proactive and
has done his homework on (the system). I'm just
pleased that he's not sitting around hoping
everything will be all right," said Lewis. "...This is
just another example of the great job he's doing."

This technology isn't new. Other cities including
Tallahassee, Fla., Valdosta and Columbus are
already using it, said Huckstep. The infrastructure
will be able to support 500 terminals in all, and the
fire and city utilities departments and others can tie
into it in the future.

While the city doesn't like to spend more than it has
to, said City Manager Tom Berry, the efficiencies
and benefit to public safety far outweigh the initial
cost. Berry said as the city acquires more software,
the chance for miscommunication by radio will
decrease.

"We've put this thing off for a long time," he said.
"...There are a lot of benefits that will be good for
us."
http://www.timesenterprise.com/articles/2003/03/26/news/3.txt

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