Laptop cops

WASILLA — Wasilla Police Department has added another tool to the myriad equipment officers keep in their patrol cars — laptops.

“We even have one for the motorcycle,” said Sgt. Ken Conn.

Paid for with a federal grant, the laptops (Mobile Data Terminals, in police-speak) give officers access to a database of maps covering the Mat-Su Borough. They’re able to access databases to show criminal history on suspects, check to see if a weapon is stolen or check a suspect’s driving history.

“Eventually, we’ll be able to write tickets” with the system, Conn said. When printers are installed in patrol cars, officers can print tickets out there as well.

Officers trained for the first part of February on how to use the system. Over the last couple of weeks the devices have been in use.

Conn said maps are a huge improvement over the previous system, wherein dispatchers sent out an address and officers wrote it down. Updated in real-time, the maps show a marker for where the officer needs to go and one tracking his progress using a GPS system installed in the car.

“We don’t have to constantly ask dispatch, ‘What was that address?’” Conn said.

Christian McCormick, a new officer in the final stages of field training under Conn, said the system is really helpful in the Valley.

“A lot of homes up here don’t have house numbers,” McCormick said.

The markers dispatchers put on the map can guide responders to the right driveway.

She said another useful feature is the ability for dispatchers to send text reports giving a suspect’s call history. If police have dealt with a person before and found him to be armed, that’s good to know.

Conn said that right now the department doesn’t let officers have the laptop open while driving. It’s an officer safety issue.

“I’ve seen them pull off the road and get on it,” McCormick said.

The laptop, Conn said, will actually talk to officers, giving them a voice alert if something has changed on the call to which they were sent. In theory, the system could do away with all radio traffic. Officers could update dispatchers with the stroke of a few keys or taps on the laptop’s touchscreen to give their status during calls.

“For officer safety reasons, we still go by voice,” he said.

But if major radio traffic comes through, officers don’t have to wait for the chatter to clear before calling dispatch. He said the general rule of thumb is the radio must be used for “anything where another officer might need to know where you are and what you’re doing.”

The laptops are removable, but when in the car can be locked securely in place to prevent theft. The policy, Conn said, is that when the temperature reaches zero degrees or cooler, or 85 degrees or warmer, the machines can’t stay in the cars when the officer is away.

The system also has an instant messaging system for communication between officers. One thing officers can’t do on the laptops is access e-mail, Conn said.

Conn said there’s been some debate about whether or not to configure the laptops for Internet access. On one hand, there are a lot of security issues to consider where the Web is concerned. On the other hand, it would be nice to have access to other databases, DMV photos, prison records and mug shots.

“We get people lying to us all the time about who they are,” Conn said, adding that the ability to call up a picture on scene would help immensely.