Computers in cars

[bigmac58]

For those of you who have the data terminals are you able to access other programs through them like a laptop or is it simply a terminal? The department I have applied to doesn't use computers, they rely on dispatch for all information. I had a thought, though. What if an officer installed a laptop into the car and kept a database of people and vehicles he has dealt with and a note explaining the situation so that if you ran into them again later you could type in a name, DOB, SSN or tag # and retreive that information. This could easily be done using Excel. Would that be legal or a violation of privacy? Just wondering.

bigmac58

[coucousis]

Out of line.... no serious dept would let you build your own data base... there is database legally set up... your dept knows how to get acces to them from a vehicular PC ... It's up to them to install them. Money is "the" big factor when it comes to install new technology in patroll cars....

You won't be aloud to set up anything that the dept did not approve. ;)

[Switchback]

Who's to say that your "database" is not for personal use? You would be a huge liability! I don't thinks so.

And to answer your other question, some of us have laptops mounted in our g-rides with aircards in them. They allow full access to the internet (we have several databases that we access through the internet) and all of our internal databases. Many of us also have GPS installed on them, along with Streets and Maps, to allow easier location of poorly marked roads/addresses.

[mcsap]

Our computers are dept owned and are on a secure network. Everything we run is recoverable should someone wish to check up on us. I guess I could carry my own laptop and keep "records" but I don't and never heard of anyone who did. If one of my guys woyuld do this, they would have some "splaining" to do .

Actually we have an Alert database now. If I run a tag on a car that was previously stopped and the owner/driver was either cited or warned for a vio, it will show up with that info. This has been a GOOD tool when you get a character who drives his parents car, his girlfriends car etc. This only applies to stops made within my county. Our network is encrypted, password protected etc. We have not had any security problems.

[P01IC3M4N]

For those of you who have the data terminals are you able to access other programs through them like a laptop or is it simply a terminal? The department I have applied to doesn't use computers, they rely on dispatch for all information. I had a thought, though. What if an officer installed a laptop into the car and kept a database of people and vehicles he has dealt with and a note explaining the situation so that if you ran into them again later you could type in a name, DOB, SSN or tag # and retreive that information. This could easily be done using Excel. Would that be legal or a violation of privacy? Just wondering.

bigmac58

you can buy a notepad that will conveniently fit in your shirt pocket for about $2 for a pack of 10. it's a pretty new idea and very few have tried it, but i think it'd be worth a shot to look into.

[bigmac58]

Thanks for your answers. Since it is considered unacceptable I would never do it. I was only curious about it as I think it would be a valuable tool for officers to be able to retrieve information about people they have dealt with in the past. Many departments in the country are underfunded and can't afford the type of terminals you talk about. So, if an officer stops someone and another officer has dealt with them then they share the same information that would be contained in the database over the air for all the scanner listeners to hear. That is a much larger breech of privacy than the database. Just my thoughts.

bigmac58

[mcsap]

We use our departmental Nextels or we have IM capability between any like equipped police department in the county. We don't need to use the radio to talk about people as we once did.

[FPS207]

Like MCSAP said, we use Nextels more than the police radio on certain days. We have conducted full operations using our Nextels. I have a computer terminal mounted in my patrol car, however it doesn't create a history of traffic stops or people we deal with. However our dispatch systems does. We can call in a tag or person and our dispatch can advise history on the vehicle or person. We maintain a local history within our county that we can call dispatch and check via the radio.

[gdowkpc]

We have guys that use Excel to track people they have arrested. It has their name, dob, description, address, and charge. It is nothing that isn't already in our own local data system. It it a great resource to quickly retrieve info on certain frequent flyers.

Wverytime the file is updated, they print it out and keep it in their shirt pocket. If you ask on the air about somone on their sheet, they answer up with invaluable information very quickly.

[DeputyMadMax]

We use a program called Mugshot on our laptops. The jail enters everyone into this program when their arrested. From this we can pull up all their information including mugshots and charges going back 7 years.

On top of that some of us also keep a small doc file that lists the local doper cars. It only lists the plate, veh, and owner. If we need addresses or DOB we pull it up from mugshot or DMV/DLD.

[mcsap]

I guess it is kind of like the "old days" when we kept a note book in our front pocket and wrote names , DOB"s etc in it.

[codered]

Interesting .............for some 'unknown' reason , i believe i will be the one to be the exception to the 'rule' here. Mac, what you are referin to , is considered an FI ( field interview ) , you may document this 'FI' any way you choose ( as long as this record is considered YOUR record , and NOT accesible to the general public). You can use a computer (your own), notepad, index cards etc............include photos if you will ...........as long as this is 'your personnal record." This record is your own , and is not accesible to the genernal public , unless it is is used in a court case( then ,it is therefore, legal grounds for summons action).

[Ianscape]

We use IMC and Packetcluster Mobile. All the cars have laptops and can run information thru the state,local, nationwide databases. It also intergrates with IMC so that you can see what dispatch has entered for the call. If you get a NCIC or State hit, it warns all cars what you have.

On the road I use a Compaq Pocket PC with bluetooth that talks back to the car. Kinda like my digital notepad.


Ian

[DeputyMadMax]

On the road I use a Compaq Pocket PC with bluetooth that talks back to the car. Kinda like my digital notepad.

Does that work pretty good? I'm strongly considering this too. I use a plam V now and was thinking of upgrading to a Pocket PC just for this reason. Our state system here is web based, so I could access it from the Pocket PC via bluetooth to my laptop. What kind of range do you get?

[greenlead]

We use proprietary software. We can pull up all incidents that have ever occured at a location, involved certain people, or associations of people with an address. If the person had been arrested in our county, their mugshot comes up along with other info, such as warrants, known resistor status, all contacts with the police, including victim or suspect.

We also have an IM program built in. We use a separate program for maps.

I love every second of using it.