Law enforcement officers already are feeling the extra pounds with their job, but this is not from a poor eating diet. The weight gain is from an officer’s need to pack a lot of equipment on his person. But, of course, it doesn’t stop there. Once he gets into his cruiser the officer has the mobile data terminal (MDT), which along with other equipment plus less overall interior vehicle room makes very cramped quarters. So it’s no wonder mobile devices may have sneaked into the officer’s technology world at just the right time.
The fact that law enforcement officers can work at peak efficiency in the field today using mobile technology is well documented. However, the impact of this “mobile office” environment on law enforcement’s ability to service communities more ably and tighten the noose on crime has become huge. Already, officers use secure wireless internet connections between laptops and smartphones along with many other mobile devices. The goal behind this technology trend among agencies is improved communications—among jurisdictions, dispatchers, and officers, using central servers and software.
MDTs' can link with central databases, share essential data
One of the biggest advantages of mobile technology is the ability to tap into the agency’s central database. A big part of this database is the records management system (RMS) that an agency relies upon for all kinds of essential information such as: Calls For Service (CFS), Be On Lookout (BOL), Community Policing, Incidents, Warrants, Master Address and Master Vehicle indexes, standard and custom reports, and, particularly important, state/federal reports such as the FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR).
In essence, the RMS can only be as useful as the means by which officers can work with it in the field---where they spend a majority of their shifts. Years ago, the mobile data terminal (MDT) was the primary means for officers to communicate with a central dispatch office, and to display mapping and information contained within the RMS database. Access to this database is vital since it contains wide-ranging information--on stolen vehicles, warrants, wanted persons, missing persons, as well as case numbers, times/dates, and other data that officers need to accomplish police work and to build reports. The MDT, still widely used today, allows any officer to gather substantial information before he responds to an incident and exits his patrol cruiser at an incident scene.
Lighter, more compact tablet gaining acceptance, usage
Fast-forward to 2015 and today’s law enforcement professionals have access to a larger technology toolbox, especially mobile and handheld technology. Although it’s doubtful that the MDT will disappear altogether, newer tools are playing a more dominant role. The Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet, for example, is among the newest tools being embraced by agencies. The Swanzey, New Hampshire, Police Department has been using a couple of these tablets for a few years, and seen its officers become more efficient and productive. The military style tough books that Swanzey PD has used for years had tough exteriors making them indestructibly long-lasting, yet their components might last only three years. “There’s a huge cost associated with that,” Chief Thomas De Angelis noted. “They (the Toughbooks) took up a large amount of room and were installed on a metal stand pushed towards the officer. If there was an accident, the Toughbook could cause sustaining injuries,” the chief added. In contrast, the Surface Pro Tablet is small, slim, lightweight, with two cameras (front and back), and long battery life. Also, “Officers can pair a Bluetooth device wirelessly with a key board and enter all their information without being distracted,” Chief De Angelis noted. “This means there is no looking to one side and getting a neck or backache. Swanzey PD installed the tablets in patrol cars by mounting them on Velcro. “If officers have to book someone, they can pull the tablet right off the Velcro and set it up at the booking room at the other agency, take the suspect’s picture, pull up their CFS, pull up reports, then sync all of this with our server,” Chief De Angelis said. “The officers also can reference information on the tablet from any location.”
Pairing RMS with tablet making progress--Multi-jurisdictional use eyed
Swanzey PD uses the Crimestar RMS program which interfaces with officers’ tablets smoothly and contains modules found in most RMS software. Crimestar offers two types of affordable RMS versions for agencies both small and large using either a pure LAN (Professional Edition) or Client/Server (Enterprise Edition) architecture. The software tracks all police department activity from the time of the initial phone call or contact to final disposition and custody of the offenders. As with any RMS, powerful and fast data searches are what officers need most, particularly in the field. Crimestar enables users to instantly search for, find and cross-link information on people, vehicles, locations, property and official documents. The RMS also is completely integrated with CAD and Mobile Data systems.
The Surface Pro Tablets that are tied to Crimestar’s software will help Swanzey PD take another important step: supporting other neighboring law enforcement agencies through the department’s server. Already, 12 agencies in Cheshire County, which includes Swanzey PD, are using the Crimestar RMS program. “We are going to support other neighboring agencies through our server,” said Chief De Angelis, who added that he aims to support other Crimestar software users through an SPD (scalable performance data) server in the near future. “This will give them great information to make solid decisions on the street. We can all have this connection to our servers and be live and be very fast.”
Some agencies not yet ready for tablet-driven RMS
The Powell, Ohio, Police Department, which prides itself on being tech savvy, an early adopter of new technology, and which uses a wide variety of mobile devices for field work, has decided not to put its RMS on mobile devices. But not because it’s a bad idea. Instead, it is because the police department accesses its RMS via a VPN (virtual private network) connection that runs through a server at the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office. Data must come in through the police cruisers on the VPN, then it is routed to the sheriff’s office. “We always seem to experience a lag in connectivity,” said Officer Ben Boruchowitz. “Having the RMS on a Tablet is another great application, and the Microsoft Surface Pro Tablet definitely can handle RMS applications. But because we don’t have the connectivity we want, even in the MDTs, we don’t want to bog down Tablets via WiFi,” Boruchowitz said. Also, Powell PD’s Tablets only work with WI-FI, and the hotspot in a cruiser cannot give internet speeds beyond 150 feet out of the cruiser. The MDTs are for RMS access, and Tablets are more of a field tool, much like a cellphone, allowing officers to integrate with their paperwork, etc., from within a building or someone’s home.
Tablets also will be beneficial for Powell PD’s bike patrol units and for foot patrol assignments were MDTs cannot be accessed. Powell PD currently has four bike patrol officers.
The use of Tablets by law enforcement is not yet widespread. But their usage will likely rise. In fact, Officer Boruchowitz noted that some agencies in Ohio already have switched out of MDTs in favor of Tablets. One of the values of a Tablet is that it’s cheaper. A Panasonic Toughbook, which is what Powell PD uses, is nearly $5,000. A Tablet or iPAD, on the other hand, can cost only $600 or $700. “So, agencies who buy these devices are not only getting the benefit of portability and light weight, but they’re also saving the taxpayers money by swapping those (MDTs) out,” Officer Boruchowitz said. For now, Powell PD will not pursue using Tablets with its RMS program, but sees value in this application later. The RMS will continue to be accessed via the MDTs.
Concern over compatibility
A concern associated with the fervor for using mobile devices with RMS or other software is compatibility. Specifically, buying a popular, and heavily promoted brand such as Apple may paint law enforcement users into a corner. Thus, buying an iPAD may not mean it will work with your agency’s RMS, for example. Why? Because the vast majority of RMS vendors offer software that runs on Microsoft platforms. Still other venders offer a web interface for their software. In this case, any device (Apple, PC, Smartphone) that can access a web browser can access the RMS application.
Tablet's benefits prove persuasive
Just what benefits, and extra advantage, does mobile technology give officers in the field? Simply put: solving crime…more expeditiously than ever before. One dramatic benefit is what has become mobile forensics---the ability to capture digital and physical information from mobile technologies. For instance, a 2006 article in the JOURNAL OF DIGITAL FORENSIC PRACTICE noted that in one U.S. study, 81 percent of law enforcement surveyed believed that cell phones were involved in 76 to 100 percent of violent crimes. The use of those cells phones means that fingerprints, DNA, and digital data were recoverable from mobile technologies for use in investigations and solving crime.
A 4G LTE tablet needed to do RMS right
While smartphones and other mobile devices have certainly made their technology mark in law enforcement, the tablet may enable agencies to reach a new level of more efficient police work and community safety. The Powell PD presently uses MDTs, smartphones, mobile fingerprint scanners and in-car cameras. It is presently field testing the Tablet and also planning a field test of on-body cameras. Officer Boruchowitz feels that using these technology tools will make officers more efficient and productive, and free them to patrol their neighborhoods more widely and thoroughly. As for the Tablet per se, Powell PD does not plan an immediate deployment for, say, RMS---yet. This is due to connectivity and internet speeds associated with putting an RMS on a Tablet. “Realistically, you would need to have a 4G LTE tablet to successfully incorporate the RMS software,” Officer Boruchowitz observed. “Using a wi-fi hotspot like we are now would render that software ineffective.” Still, the officer added, Powell PD’s long-term goal is to actually put the RMS on a Tablet. Scaling this technology hurdle would also be beneficial for multiple, neighboring agencies that use a common RMS software program. Agencies could use tablets to view calls for service and history of calls for every jurisdiction in the county. Thus, data sharing for all kinds of crime related activities via a Tablet could be extremely helpful.
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The trend towards adding newer, quicker, and more convenient technologies to share data and better police communities will only accelerate. This particularly applies to mobile devices. Oftentimes, a new tool is all it takes to help drive and further refine this trend. With the Tablet, for instance, already gaining acceptance among law enforcement agencies as a viable, powerful mobile law enforcement tool, it’s probably only a matter of time before it becomes standard equipment. “This (technology push) will put pressure on IT departments to develop a quick way to access RMS modules and information,” Officer Boruchowitz said. “Putting the RMS on a Tablet will be icing on the cake.”
