Police Department Installs In-Car Computers In Cruisers

The installation of in-car computers for the Fremont Police Department is expected to increase productivity, officials said.

Two of six mobile data terminals have been installed into cruisers and went live this week, said Lt. Jeff Elliott.

Now with the aid of cellular air cards, officers can search local and state records from their cars. They also can complete reports and issue printed e-citations for traffic infractions from the mobile data terminals and printers in the cars.

"The only reason an officer really needs to go back to the police department is to make a call, to talk to someone who has come to the station or drop off property," said Officer Jim Dockerty. "It enables officers to be more productive."

Elliott said the department originally got a grant from the Nebraska Department of Highway Safety in September of 2005 to purchase the rugged laptop computers. Retired Deputy Chief Steve Tellatin initiated the program and other state and local grants adding up to about $85,000 helped pay for the peripherals and software.

"We got all the equipment but found it was not practical to use until we had a wireless system," Elliott said. "We looked at a number of different systems to make this work."

A city-wide 800 megahertz radio wave system was considered, as was a radio band specifically designed for law enforcement, before deciding on the cellular connection.

"This is not only a cheaper option, but allows us to transfer data faster," Elliott said. "It allows officers to have much more information in the field."

It will cost the department about $300 per month for airtime, he said.

Another consideration had been using a thumb drive to transfer information at the end of a shift, but that was scrapped pretty quickly.

"We were worried about corrupting our records management system," said Alesia Hajek, an office assistant who works in the FPD records department.

Before making the decision, officials looked at how other departments, including the Omaha Police Department, ran their mobile data terminals.

Within the next few months, all of the units will be in cruisers and a national database and silent dispatching are expected to be available to officers.

"It's a boon to us for people who monitor scanners," Elliott said. "Now we can get information without people hearing it."

Officers also have limited Internet access to just a few specific Web sites that would be beneficial to officers.

"We can search anything in the databases from here," Hajek said. "It will be beneficial on traffic stops to gather information we don't have. This will really help with investigations too."

Officers can check past convictions and even a gang database through the in-car computers.

"A lot of things you would need to call dispatch for can be handled here," Elliott said. "It's simply about efficiency. It allows us to keep cruisers on the street and answer calls more quickly. The idea is that it will increase productivity."

Dockerty used the new computer Wednesday afternoon while issuing a ticket to a driver with expired license plates.

"I'm very excited about the process of creating reports in the car," Dockerty said. "Now all I have to do is go back to the station, print it out and turn it in to get approved."

There is another benefit of getting the computers and keeping officers on the street more often.

"If I do my reports on the side of the road or in a parking lot, I'm still a visual deterrent to people," Dockerty said.