INFORMATION #1 08-20-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY Technology in your pocket Officers who patrol in vehi- cles have a lot in compari- son to officers on bikes, homes, motorcycles or foot. They have more comfortable seats, protec- tion from the weather, the ability to take offenders into custody, and a number of technologies needed to help them do their jobs, to name a few. Aether Systems Mobile Govern- ment Division has developed a prod- uct that can assist officers who patrol outside the vehicle. It helps increase officer efficiency and safety and keeps them aware of what is going on in their district. Spinning off of their previous development, PacketCluster, Aether has devel- oped PocketBlue, a wireless hand- held system. How it all started Aether's Mobile Government Divi- sion provides mobile computing prod- ucts for the public sector. Aether cre- ated the division following the acqui- sitions of Cerulean Technology and Sunpro Corporation. The Cerulean product line is designed to meet the needs of the mobile law enforcement community, while the Sunpro product line is designed to meet the needs of the fire and EMS communities. Their products are used by more than 2,800 public safety agencies. Prior to the acquisitions, Cerulean Technology developed PacketCluster. This product has been very successful as Aether continues to distribute it to From the office to vehicles and now to out-of-vehicle officers, Aether Systems Mobile Govemment Division delivers information through PacketCluster and now PocketBlue. agencies around the country. PacketCluster brought back-office applications from' within the agency out to officers in their vehicles. Aether then took that one step further. Pocket- Blue brought that information from the vehicle to officers on foot patrol. In the past, an officer on a routine traffic stop would mn the suspect's plates for stolen .vehicle status and/or drivers license number for wants and warrants, using the radio in their vehi- cles. This tied up the radio line, as well as the dispatcher's valuable time. Using PacketCluster in vehicles, officers can do this search themselves. The laptop in an officer's vehicle, fea- turing PacketCluster, is connected wirelessly to the NCIC (National Crime Information Center), NLETS (National Law Enforcement .Telecom- munications System -- state databases link) or the local DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). Using these data- bases, officers can access information from the laptop inside their vehicles instead of contacting dispatchers through the radio. "The request is sent wirelessly through the PacketCluster server net- work to the databases and then back to that laptop for the officer to read," says Mike Layman, senior product marketing manager at Aether Systems, Mobile Government Division, Marl- borough, Massachusetts. Secure messaging is another feature of PacketCluster. "Messaging is built into this system so officers can com- municate wirelessly with other offi- cers,, says Layman. Previously, offi- cers only had the radio to communicate with other officers. Information spoken 140 Law Enforcement Technology · July 2001 I I II III I i I1111 II I! I!1 ! ! i~J~il III llllIrl llllll-