Officer.com Police Blogs & Podcasts

Tim Dees
Editor-in-Chief
Officer.com

It took me a bit longer to get this final installment posted because the photographs I took at IACP were on the same laptop that I broke, and while I had the originals still on the camera’s memory card, I didn’t have anything to download them to. Well, here we are, back at the office, and I have no more excuses, beyond that it’s really late and I would like to go home.

Dodge had a display of their new Magnum package, or, at least, it was new to me. This one looks a little like a station wagon. I guess it could be an alternative to using a sedan or an SUV for a K-9 vehicle, or for an assignment that called for more equipment than could be carried in a standard patrol sedan. This could prove to be an excellent vehicle, but to me, it just looks a little odd.

I mentioned in the second portion of this journal on IACP 2006 that I saw two really big tactical vehicles on display. Here they are, and note the relative size of the people standing next to them. Those aren’t dwarfs. I’m still having a little difficulty envisioning a law enforcement situation that would require one of these. If you had to get your tactical team to a location accessible only by a road that had been mined, maybe, but I can think of some lieutenants or captains that would make excellent mine detectors, with the added benefit that each mine they located would result in their departments running more smoothly with enhanced morale (before you start the hate mail - just kidding here).

I kept hoping to see the definitive oh, wow product at the trade show, and on the last day, I think I found it. Ironically, it was within sight of the Cygnus booth (you know, Cygnus, the folks that own Officer.com and me), but I hadn’t made it that way, having started my up-and-down-the-aisles from the opposite wall.

Joneso Design is, as their name suggests, an industrial design outfit. They have a multinational staff that consists of people from an unnamed portion of Africa and Italy, from the accents I was able to identify. Their web site is very artsy and visually attractive, but it doesn’t tell you a lot about what they do, and it doesn’t include any details of the design they exhibited at this show.

They call their design “Brijo™,” and it is a replacement console for the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor model. By “console,” I don’t mean the space between the seats, but rather the entire forward portion of the passenger compartment. Even though there has been some ingenious work with mounting hardware and miniaturization/integration of the various gadgets that a patrol car contains, most cars are still a kludge that is neither ergonomic nor especially stable in a collision. the people that design the equipment have to start with the interior of a sedan that was designed to be a family car or a taxicab, not a mobile office and tactical command post.

The Brijo brings the vehicle interior as close as you are likely to find to a car that was built primarily to be a police vehicle. The steering wheel has large buttons integrated into it that control the more critical functions an officer would need to have available during an emergency response. The instrument panel is completely digital, capable of displaying the usual speed and fuel supply information, but also any text alerts that might be handy to have, like the address of the incident where the officer is going.

Control knobs are things like heat and air conditioning are almost doorknob-size, for ease in adjustment while wearing winter gloves. There is a bubble on the top of the dashboard, near the windshield, that can contain an emergency warning light or a patrol video camera. On the passenger side, the space above the glove compartment that is usually wasted because of the need to clear the air bag zone has compartments for small, frequently used items like citation books.

The mobile computer isn’t added on—it’s built in. The full-size display is part of the center console, like some car navigation systems are, but much larger. The display works with the computer module, installed elsewhere in the vehicle, and with the patrol video system. It’s also touch-sensitive, so it can be programmed to serve as the control head for any other gadgets that might need to be added later, like an infrared camera or a traffic radar unit. The computer keyboard slides out from underneath like an ashtray, and swivels to either side for easy use by either the driver or passenger.

There’s no radio microphone hanging from the dash because the microphone is integrated into the cabin. The driver or passenger can transmit by pushing a button and speaking.

I really don’t know how well this design is going to be accepted by the law enforcement community. Joneso says that they have been field testing the design with agencies in their home state of Rhode Island, and have received rave reviews, even though they are tweaking the design as they go. I also don’t know how much this is going to cost. It would cost a lot less (hint, hint) if the auto manufacturers made it a factory option, sold with police package vehicles. Joneso did say that they have a similar design for the Dodge Magnum, the other major player in patrol vehicles.

So, hope for the best, because every cop I know would like to have an “office” that’s set up better than the one he or she has now. Be safe, all.