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State and local governments can spend more than $50,000 outfitting one
police car with modern technologies, and adding the necessary information technologies can double the cost of outfitting the
car, according to market observers and police departments. Car service life varies, but typically lasts 24/7 for three to
five years -- or about 85,000 miles.
Cops are constantly adapting their equipment to the environment.
Our kit bags have grown larger and larger as we collected equipment to deal with the job. Our departments gives us the
basics and as we face new situations we think about what we could have used as a tool to have made the task easier.
Then, we go out and get that tool for next time. Much of the commercially produced police equipment used by our peers
today was developed on the fly by those who walked the beat before us. The concept of the police car as a mobile office
was developed by those of us who worked long shifts and thought What could be added to this car to make my job easier? Make
me more comfortable? Help me to hunt down dangerous offenders?
Why does it always seem so long for good ideas to come to fruition?
Man had ideas for powered flight for millennia but it wasnt until a little over a hundred years ago that this idea was finally
realized with the Wright Brothers historic flight in Kittyhawk, N.C. For law enforcement, the idea of simulation training has been around for
quite some time. In fact, law enforcement trainers have used simulation technology to help combat the top two liability concerns
for all agencies: driving/car accidents and use of force.
The mobile office is on its way out. In the near future, the only
way to describe a police car will be as a platform. A platform is a combination of technologies with real-world applications.
Thinking of your police car as a platform gives us a foundation from which to explore your cars future. It wont
just be your office, it will be another set of senses, operating independent of you, and providing you with real-time information
on the world around you. More importantly, the Police Vehicle Platform (PVP) will significantly enhance your safety
and ability to conduct law enforcement operations
Hot Car and Hot Data
The introduction
of mobile technology into law enforcement has increased dramatically. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in 2000,
75% of local police officers and 61% of sheriffs' officers worked for an agency that used in-field computers or terminals,
compared to 30% and 28% in 1990. Just at the rate of application has increased,
so has the sophistication of the equipment. Indeed, in the previous article we
saw that police in-field computers have steadily graduated from “dumb” terminals to fully-functioning computers.
Sophisticated equipment
has given the street officer access to more and better information and provided him or her with a variety of means to capture
information. Unfortunately, we may be somewhat lagging in our ability to apply
that information in our field investigations and tactics. In this article we
will explore some of the possible uses of technology in field investigations.
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