Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Technology for the times LVPD updating patrol-car computers

From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 01 Jul 2003 10:59:33 -0400

Technology for the times LVPD updating patrol-car computers

By Jason Newell , Staff Writer

The La Verne Police Department says updated technology will give it the potential
to improve service and cut down on response times.

The department soon will install new mobile data terminals in each of its 16
patrol cars, which police say will be far superior to the problem-prone terminals
now in place.

"Our current mobile data terminals basically weren't designed for cars,' said
Police Chief Ron Ingels, noting the miniature computers experience frequent
technical difficulties and need continual repairs.

The total upgrade will cost almost $170,000 but will have no effect on the general
fund, said Finance Officer Ron Clark. Funding from the city's police narcotics
confiscation fund was approved by the City Council last week at its budget
meeting.

The terminals have been in place for four years, and don't stand up to the heavy
demands of patrol cars, said Community Service Officer Jason Prows.

"They don't handle vibration, and they don't handle heat,' Prows said. "These are
basically 24-7 computers, they operate 24 hours a day, so they take a lot of wear
and tear.'

The new terminals, designed by Motorola specifically for public safety vehicles,
will come equipped with a global positioning satellite tracking system that will
allow officers to locate emergencies more quickly. The upgrades also will enable
headquarters to locate each patrol car within the city to better know which to
dispatch to calls.

"Hopefully, response times will be reduced to some degree,' Ingels said.

The system also will give the department an idea of where to find officers who are
in danger situations like foot pursuits and can't radio in their position, Ingels
said.

"Right now, essentially we'd just start looking,' he said. "Under the new system
we'd be able to locate the officer's car.'

The upgrade also allows police to transmit photographs of suspects from
headquarters to each patrol car. The new terminal screens also are more than
double the brightness of the old, Prows said, solving a visibility problem
officers have faced in the past.
The new ones operate much faster, he said.

City Manager Martin Lomeli said the upgrade is financially responsible, as it
would cost the city more to maintain the current system than it will for the
upgrade.

The money comes from a fund that only can be spent on the Police Department,
generated by assets confiscated during drug busts, Clark said. The city has more
than $2 million in the fund.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,205~12220~1487534,00.html

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