INFORMATION #1 08-20-2001 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY 1733 from Symbol Technologies. It is a rugged device using the Palm OS that would be ideal for officers on motorcycles. This is because it is more weather resistant than the Palm or a RIM device and is ideal for officers who patrol in more rugged conditions. Using this hardware and the fea- tures Aether has developed, Pocket- Blue helps officers do their jobs. Pro- viding the technology officers need on a handheld device, allows departments to put more officers on the street. More officers on the street means improved awareness of officers in the community, while giving them the ability to do their jobs. Using its immediate wireless messaging, PocketBlue allows an officer to inform other officers of what is going on in and around the community. Using both PocketBlue and Packet- Cluster and their messaging capabili- ties, departments can inform officers Out-of-vehicle officers can now run a suspect's drivers license and license plates for a possible hit. quickly and accurately of a hazardous situation. "If an officer standing on the street hms a plate and gets a hit on a stolen vehicle, every officer in their patrol car and those with PocketBlue know which officer ran the plate and what came up on the hit," says Layman. This feature provides officers with the ability to know if another Officer may be in potential danger. If the hit came back, other officers would know in a matter of seconds. produced by the California Peace Officers' Association supported by the Califomia Police Chiefs Association September 12-13, 2001 Ontario Convention Center Ontario, CA C.G,P.S.W E S T ~ Law Enforcenmt Expo --~/.( Post CPT ~nars -~ Keynote l~'esenLation £~ Test/Demo Day (sept~ 14) $10 (pre-registered) · $15 (at the door) www. c0pswest.c0m (916) 263-5525 Write in 138 on Reader Service Card 142 Law Enforcement Technology · July 2001 The future There are other applications that are available with these devices that can be helpful for officers. An appli- cation that is cur- rently being beta tested is a product called StopTracker. "This product assists in tracking and auditing the information an offi- cer collects during a traffic stop," says David Rosi, corpo- rate vice president and general manag- er, Aether Sys- tems."It captures all critical informa- tion for both vehi- cle and pedestrian stops." It collects data as part of the traffic stop and then ana- lyzes that data to assess whether racial profiling is actually an issue. Layman noted that many cities are in the position of being mandated or required to collect data on traffic stops. StopTracker can assist in doing that. Unlike PocketBlue, StopTracker has to be reconnected to its base at the end of the day. PocketBlue is a' query against a database and therefore does not require any reconnection for it to be accessed by other officers. The database is updated immediately after an officer enters the information. StopTracker collects and stores data so none of the information gathered on that device is available to other offi- cers until it is reconnected and that information is moved to the database. The most current information in that database will be available once an officer connects the device and moves the new information over. Agencies using PocketBlue Currently there is only one depart- ment that has purchased PocketBlue and that is the St. Paul (Minnesota) Police Department. PacketCluster is in use all over the country, but to imple- ment PocketBlue into that mix, one department in each state must first do some testing. There is currently beta testing going on in various cities throughout the country. Aether found that beta sites allow them to know whether the system will work in every state. "It provides feedback as to how officers are using it and if it works effectively," Layman notes. Beta test- ing also tests the system to find any kinks that may come up. He adds, "Until a product is out there and being used, you never really ,H, ,,,, ,,,t mmllt Imim,imi1,11,1illilt lt iilllil lllllit Illl !111 IIit1111tltli it ltttt ttlt IJttt Il II Iit iillllllllllllillltll