To Tech Or Not To Tech...
Now THAT is the question, isn't it?
We live in a marvelous age where so much can be done by the touch of a button, the click of a mouse, or even the tap on a screen.
And yet, no matter how far we come, we've always got just as far to go to find solutions to all the questions we seem to have.
When it comes to having our LEOs patrol out streets and highways, there certainly is NO end in sight.
Every week seems to have something new to aid in enforcing the law.
In an age where our officers are (seemingly) just as much of a "social worker" as patrol officer, these men and women are wearing hats they never knew they signed up for.
As our society changes, the LEOs have to adapt along with it...it's part of the job. Most of the changes are beneficial...like body armor, or TASERS.
Others...not so much.
Here's an interesting article about technology in the cruiser:
(( Published: April 3, 2010 3:00 a.m.
Cell phone distracts you? Try being a police officer
Jeff Wiehe / Cathie Rowand / The Journal Gazette
In their squad cars, Fort Wayne police officers have a wealth of technology and information at their fingertips.
They have a mini-dispatch center at their fingertips, complete with a computer screen, radio and mapping system.
And many of them look at and process information from all those sources while driving city streets, sometimes at high speed.
At a time when distracted driving – especially texting and driving – is striking a chord with the public and lawmakers across the country, police officers are driving squad cars with more technology surrounding them than ever before. Officers are bombarded with information as they maneuver to crime scenes or just coast through neighborhoods on patrol.
The technology is essential to an officer’s daily duties, especially the in-car computer, according to officers.
Because the computer provides updates on crimes in progress and even pictures of possible suspects when the information is available, Fort Wayne police officers routinely glance at the screen while driving.
Add officer cell phones to the mix, and it means officers at times will have to multi-task like never before. "With the amount of information that we pump out on the computer, you almost have to have it up and running," Police Chief Rusty York said of the computers called Mobile Data Terminals that are mounted in every squad car. "It’s definitely a distraction, but it’s something the officers have come to depend on so much."
The police department denied The Journal Gazette’s request to ride along with a Fort Wayne police officer to observe how much multi-tasking is needed on a daily basis.
Officer Raquel Foster, police spokeswoman, said the department suspended its ride-along program last year and limited it to special instances. An officer can request a ride-along for family, or an exception can be made for some media stories, she said. Information coming from the radio is no real distraction, police officials said.
Officers become attuned to the radio traffic relatively easily, and it’s just like someone driving to work listening to music.
The computers, though, pose the real distraction threat.
They look like laptops and provide an officer with calls the agency has received that day, access to criminal histories, photographs and maps. In the near future, the computers in Fort Wayne police squad cars will be equipped with GPS to let them know where other squad cars are in the city. "I don’t own a computer at home, but I can’t be without the one in my squad car," said Sgt. William Walsh, a 50-year veteran Fort Wayne officer who has witnessed dramatic advances in technology in the department.
Different policies -
Ambulances with the Three Rivers Ambulance Authority and squad cars with the Allen County Sheriff’s Department also have these types of computers, but officials with those agencies said policies set in place limit the distractions they might cause.
TRAA paramedics usually ride two per ambulance. When going to a scene, one paramedic will drive while the other uses the computer to either get updates on the situation they’re driving to or help navigate using a map. The TRAA computers also have a touch screen, whereas Fort Wayne and Allen County police use keyboards.
While taking a patient to a hospital, though, the paramedic driving the ambulance is free to use the computer if his or her partner is in the back with that patient.
"Are there potential disadvantages with distraction? Maybe, but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages," said Gary Booher, executive director of the ambulance authority.
Allen County sheriff’s officers are to have their computers closed while driving their squad cars, a policy put in place by Sheriff Ken Fries about a year ago after he decided they could be too distracting
He has yet to discipline anyone for driving with a computer open.
Fries is also concerned with how much equipment is in squad cars – a radio and a camera set up to record what happens in front of the car both take up space.
"I don’t know how much more you can put in a car," Fries said.
No evidence has been found to suggest that any crashes involving county squad cars were the result of an officer distracted by the technology, Fries said.
York, though, said in recent years one or two accidents involving city police officers were the result of what’s in the car, mainly something blocking an officer’s vision.
"We’ve worked on the location of the computer so as not to block anyone’s vision," York said.
Indiana Sen. Tom Wyss, R-Fort Wayne, has tried to ban texting while driving. One law he was a part of banned cell phone use for young drivers.
A recent bill – which would’ve banned texting for all drivers and was the product of Rep. Win Moses, D-Fort Wayne, and Rep. Phyllis Pond, R-New Haven – failed to pass in Indiana this year.
Wyss said that distractions while driving are dangers for everybody, but he noted there can be a difference between what distracts a civilian driver and what distracts an officer accustomed to processing more information at once because of the nature of the job.
He understands an officer needs to be updated on what he or she may be getting into while going to a scene.
"The stuff we put in those vehicles, it’s not only for the protection of the officer but also the citizenry," he said.
Still, Wyss did express concern. "I don’t expect police to be driving down the street looking at a computer screen," he said.
Better in the future?
Newer technology is on the horizon that might someday alleviate some distractions, making tools hands-free for officers.
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have recently introduced Project54 for law enforcement in that state, setting all electronics in a squad car to a voice- activation system.
The system has been put into more than 1,000 cars, according to the researchers’ Web site.
"While officers still need to be trained to use the devices, gone are the multitude of individual user interfaces that added complexity to the interaction," the Web site reads. "Officers can use voice commands to tell the system what they want to accomplish."
York said he has heard of similar technology as well as systems that would put information closer to eye level or at the steering wheel so the officer isn’t looking at a computer screen.
For Fort Wayne, though, something like that might be far off.
"Because of the cost, that technology is not taking off or anything," York said.
jeffwiehe@jg.net ))
WHEW...now that's a lot to take in, right?
Well, I'm all for giving the GOOD GUYS the best gear when it comes to catching the BAD GUYS, and I'm sure you'd agree.
But, as the story says, you eventually get to a "tipping point" in all this technology.
Sure, *I* can work on the computer, listen to the radio and monitor a PD scanner, but I've done it in the past for so long, it becomes routine for me...and I'm also AT HOME, and NOT in a patrol cruiser.
When I DRIVE...I'm all business. I rarely even listen to the radio.
Now think about an officer, monitoring radio traffic, listening for the next call, glancing at that computer screen from time to time, as well as having his/her head on a swivel eyeing the STREETS (and passersby) for suspicious activity, bad tags, erratic driving, traffic lights and signage...well, you get the idea. These guys and gals are pretty damn BUSY, don'cha think?
Used to be a time when you ALWAYS had a TWO-MAN squad car in a big city. Today, you'd be hard-pressed to see that in a lot of cities that actually would benefit from a return to such tactics.
But that was a time when officers had a LOT LESS "stuff" in the cruiser. Lights, sirens, radio, partner...that was IT!
In dense traffic, one officer drove, and the other "navigated"...aka called out cross-streets, kept a eye out for civilians, traffic, perps, stolen cars...whatever. It worked damn well, too. But that changed. We have one officer per car (except for probies and their PTOs).
With the sheer amount of tech being crammed into cruisers today (and the amount of road traffic), it makes damn good sense to GET a second set of eyes into that vehicle.
As one officer drives, the other can view the monitor for calls and suspects, call up records on scene, or anything else that will ensure a BETTER process for policing all around.
Hell, it might even make for FEWER overall vehicle purchases...and that would SAVE MONEY.

A two-member "crew" of an ambulance makes sense, so why not revisit this in a police car (especially if one of those officers is CROSS-TRAINED in EMT protocol)?
When you consider that most of the front interior of a police vehicle is FILLED with all types of technology, the passenger seat usually has the "gear bag", and the trunk is also filled with a long gun chest, aux battery (to drive the systems), forms, emergency kits, and component hubs and antennae, aren't we expecting a little MUCH from an individual officer?
Now, what happens when the technology "goes wrong"?
Almost EVERY day, I can hear officers throughout the city with "computer problems"...(welcome to MY personal PC world...lol). If it isn't the hardware not being able to "take the lumps" along the uneven roads and streets of the city, it's a software issue. We hear air-cards not working, system crashes, and numerous requests for a "Spillman Unit" (technical support).
On top of all this, the FWPD is looking to get NEW RADIOS (again) within a year or two.
Cost for that?
A few (more) HUNDRED THOUSAND BUCKS, people.
The current system isn't that "old" to begin with.
Not to mention, as WE, (civilians) soon find out...any GOOD system just HAS to have a "service contract" (and support) to go with it, right?
And THEY ain't cheap, either, friends!
Think about it...why DO we keep having the need to constantly upgrade the equipment for our LEOs?
Because the BAD GUYS are constantly upgrading THEIRS.
THEY get semi autos, so LEOs adopt semi autos (capacity of firepower issue)
LEOs have to wear body armor , because the BAD GUYS are using hi-velocity rounds (assault rifles).
LEOs have to start carrying A-4s (M-16s) in their trunk to prevent another incident like back in 1997 in North Hollywood.
LEOs have to employ "less-than-lethal" technologies to prevent having to resort to DEADLY force (and to avoid frivolous lawsuits).
It's not easy having to remain several (large) steps AHEAD of the "competition" these days...it's costs MONEY.
And money is something in short supply in many departments across the nation. Still, GRANTS are available (and are regularly utilized whenever possible).
Whether or not a department procurement officer is savvy enough to stay on top of the latest "toys", and is either willing or desirous of applying FOR these grants to protect those patrolling our streets is the real matter here, however.
One would believe that PUBLIC SAFETY and the safety OF THE OFFICERS would be "Job-One".
But sometimes, you have to wonder if another priority might be in play here..
People are only human, and can slip up.
As is often the case, many of these grants are "time-sensitive"...vis-a-vis you snooze, you lose!.
Technology is great when it comes to POLICING...but ONLY if it works AS CLAIMED...and claimed when required.
We don't need to go out and buy something, sight-unseen and not properly field-tested, though.
No department can ever do it all, but they should ALWAYS be able to do a little more than "just enough".
In the end, no matter WHAT goodies and gadgets you DO jam and cram into a police cruiser, it will ALWAYS come down to one, VERY important part OF that cruiser...
The OFFICER that holds the steering wheel.
THAT is where the rubber truly meets the road.
Everything else is ancillary.
I could be wrong...but I don't think so.
After all, it IS just common sense, right?
Be well, make a difference, and...
Stay safe out there, America.