WPD Officers Take 'Byte' Out Of Crime
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Warsaw police are hoping to take a bigger "byte out of crime" next year by using computer technology in some of their squad cars.
If everything goes as planned, at least 15 police cars will be equipped with laptop computers that will give patrol officers almost instant access to information that could save their lives.
A demonstration of the system was given to the police department Wednesday by representatives of Cerulean, the company that makes the software.
While radio communications will still be available, the computers also will allow the officers to communicate without using radios that can be monitored with scanners.
Each of the 15 squad cars will be equipped with a laptop computer that will feature "Packet Cluster Patrol" software. At the touch of a button or two, the police officer will be able to send or receive messages; contact other local, state or national agencies or databases; call up maps of general or pinpointed areas; and even keep track of other police cars' locations.
For example, when an officer stops a car on a routine traffic violation, with the new computers, he no longer has to approach the driver while not knowing if a potentially dangerous situation exists.
Instead of relaying license plate information by radio to the police dispatcher, who then accesses state or national information and gets back to the officer, the policeman will be able to directly access that information himself. And the response time will be a matter of seconds.
If the car stopped for a traffic violation has been reported stolen, or if the driver is wanted on a warrant, the officer will know of potential danger before he approaches the car. At the same time the officer is notified, all other squad cars in the area will be put on notice.
Police radios can still be used if voice communication is necessary or advisable.
Estimated cost of the hardware and software is approximately $140,000, which is already available to the WPD from state and federal grants applied for by Police Chief Craig Allebach.
Police agencies that already use the technology are reporting that they are finding many more stolen cars and wanted drivers. Some Indiana city police departments already using the system are Bloomington, Portage, Porter, Chesterton and Columbus. The Indiana State Police and Fort Wayne Police Department are on a pilot program with Cerulean.
The system's representative said the system and software are encrypted so there is no chance an unauthorized user could hack into the information. [[In-content Ad]]
Warsaw police are hoping to take a bigger "byte out of crime" next year by using computer technology in some of their squad cars.
If everything goes as planned, at least 15 police cars will be equipped with laptop computers that will give patrol officers almost instant access to information that could save their lives.
A demonstration of the system was given to the police department Wednesday by representatives of Cerulean, the company that makes the software.
While radio communications will still be available, the computers also will allow the officers to communicate without using radios that can be monitored with scanners.
Each of the 15 squad cars will be equipped with a laptop computer that will feature "Packet Cluster Patrol" software. At the touch of a button or two, the police officer will be able to send or receive messages; contact other local, state or national agencies or databases; call up maps of general or pinpointed areas; and even keep track of other police cars' locations.
For example, when an officer stops a car on a routine traffic violation, with the new computers, he no longer has to approach the driver while not knowing if a potentially dangerous situation exists.
Instead of relaying license plate information by radio to the police dispatcher, who then accesses state or national information and gets back to the officer, the policeman will be able to directly access that information himself. And the response time will be a matter of seconds.
If the car stopped for a traffic violation has been reported stolen, or if the driver is wanted on a warrant, the officer will know of potential danger before he approaches the car. At the same time the officer is notified, all other squad cars in the area will be put on notice.
Police radios can still be used if voice communication is necessary or advisable.
Estimated cost of the hardware and software is approximately $140,000, which is already available to the WPD from state and federal grants applied for by Police Chief Craig Allebach.
Police agencies that already use the technology are reporting that they are finding many more stolen cars and wanted drivers. Some Indiana city police departments already using the system are Bloomington, Portage, Porter, Chesterton and Columbus. The Indiana State Police and Fort Wayne Police Department are on a pilot program with Cerulean.
The system's representative said the system and software are encrypted so there is no chance an unauthorized user could hack into the information. [[In-content Ad]]