Maps on Your Mobile Data Terminals (MDT)

[sixpanel]

For those of you who have computers in your patrol cars, do you have mapping software included in your CAD? If so, what do you see as the advantages? My department has the option of placing the maps in the CAD system, but it costs extra. They are trying to determine why they should do it, what the advantages are, etc.

[acreature]

No asking for cross streets
No worry of blacking out too late
Working an unfamiliar District
Giving directions to Tourists


There are hundreds of advantages

The only disadvantage is the Rooks that get spoiled by it and never really ride the roads to become familiar with the area as they should.

[DeltaV]

We also have it. By pressing one button, a map of the call comes up. The advantage is that you don't have to use a paper map to find the grid and then find the street and cross streets. I rarely ever use my grid map anymore because of the computer map.

In the FTO program, phase one (and sometimes phase two) officers can't use the computer map. They have to use the grid map and show proficiency in finding calls with it before they are allowed to use the computer map.

[mcsap]

We have our 80 sq miles of area mapped and can zoom into street level easily.

We have our tow zones easily available. ( we use 5 tow companies)

Locating addresses is easy, type in the address and the map zooms in and shows the outline of the property lines and blinks in red.

If we click on a parcel of land , it shows the owners info including his home address if he lives elsewhere.

[RO56]

Pretty much what's been said above. Depending upon how much they're trying to charge your department, it's usually a no brainer decision.

[Valor55]

I did a ride along with Westminster PD in Colorado. They had a GIS mapping system on their computers.

You could see where you were on the map but nobody else. Supposedly supervisors and dispatchers couldn't see where you were unless there was an emergency.

When you got a call your backup officer would appear on your map and you would appear on his so you could coordinate your response. For emergency calls the computer would send the closest available units, not the unit whose area it was but happened to be a long way off returning from a call in another area.

When you got your call you could zoom in to the location and see that you were going to the fourth house on the right. No more hunting for hidden and missing house numbers (here probably 2 out of 3 houses might have a visible address.)

On major incidents everyone would be on the screen and you could adjust your perimeter very easily.

I thought it was a great system and wish we had it where I am now.

[MetPC]

I did a ride along with Westminster PD in Colorado. They had a GIS mapping system on their computers.

You could see where you were on the map but nobody else. Supposedly supervisors and dispatchers couldn't see where you were unless there was an emergency.

When you got a call your backup officer would appear on your map and you would appear on his so you could coordinate your response. For emergency calls the computer would send the closest available units, not the unit whose area it was but happened to be a long way off returning from a call in another area.

When you got your call you could zoom in to the location and see that you were going to the fourth house on the right. No more hunting for hidden and missing house numbers (here probably 2 out of 3 houses might have a visible address.)

On major incidents everyone would be on the screen and you could adjust your perimeter very easily.

I thought it was a great system and wish we had it where I am now.

That sounds like a good system, ours is a half hearted effort which commonly fails. It uses GPS technology that fails on a regular basis so will put your car (in vitrtual map land at least) in the middle of the sea or transplant it to Belgium :rolleyes: According to the GPS I once passed through the South of England at over 1000 miles per hour, if only that were the case.

When it works and you are single crewed it is a genuine asset. When it doesn't it's just a waste of space.

Unfortunately the new guys who have never had to read a paper map to get to a call make useless operators :(

[Jay7376]

We have just the basic DeLorme mapping software program that one could buy at target. It is not connected to CAD and not connected to GPS, but its better than a paper map.