Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Mobile units aid small city in big way

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 25 Feb 2003 14:44:00 -0500

Mobile units aid small city in big way

BY Dibya Sarkar
Feb. 20, 2003

Crime is a concern everywhere, even in the small city of Pratt in
rural south central Kansas.

"Oh, I think we experience the same crimes as any other
jurisdiction, just in smaller amounts," said Capt. Steve Holmes. His
21-member police department includes 14 sworn officers watching
over a population of about 7,000.

To help patrols respond to serious situations, get critical
information in the field, and save time and money, the department
used a $200,000 federal law enforcement grant awarded last year
to implement a computer-aided dispatch and records management
system and a mobile wireless broadband network.

Holmes said the department looked into Cellular Digital Packet
Data (CDPD) but found transmission speeds too slow for the
data-rich files and recurring costs substantial.

The department selected a secure wireless broadband system from
Alvarion Ltd. that enables officers to access large files, such as
mug shots, and other information at speeds up to 1.544 megabits/sec.

Water, airport and civic center towers were used to install the network and police
vehicles were
equipped with the rugged mobile data radio system, called BreezeAccess SU-M. Nine mobile
units were purchased and five broadcast networks secured, Holmes said.

According to Carlton O'Neal, Alvarion's vice president of marketing, the private network
will
have no recurring telecommunications costs and because the radios operate in the
unlicensed
2.4 GHz radio band, there are no user or upfront fees payable to the Federal
Communications
Commission.

"We see these community area networks as the natural next evolution," he said. "Reality is
it gets
deployed as there's a need. Police officers see absolute results. But once those base
stations are
in place, everyone from the water department to government officials can leverage off the
same
system."

With the system, Holmes said officers soon will be able to tap into security cameras at
private
facilities, such as banks and convenience stores, via the Web. He said the department is
working with several businesses to access their videos.

Other features include enabling officers to download the state's laws and statues, so it
is like
having a "research library in your police car," Holmes said.

Officers also can use voice over IP so that they do not have to return to the station to
make a
phone call, he added. With such time saved, Holmes said the department has estimated that
it
has kept another police officer on the street.

"The Internet is a common carrier that can allow departments to communicate with each
other,"
he added. "One application I can foresee is big push for is facial recognition software."

Holmes said his department is talking with the sheriff's department as well as several
other
jurisdictions about the system.

http://www.fcw.com/geb/articles/2003/0217/web-pratt-02-20-03.asp
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