Local patrol cars to be armed with computers
Sean HarkinsThree local law enforcement agencies may soon be receiving a technology upgrade. Laptop computers may be easing the flow of information for patrol vehicles on the road.
The Alpena County Sheriff Department has submitted a letter of interest to the Office of Highway Safety Planning for a grant to allow for electronic submissions of crash reports.
The letter proposes the Sheriff Department, City of Alpena Police Department and Michigan State Police Alpena Post each receive six laptop computer units for patrol vehicles.
In the past, all police departments manually filled out a crash report and sent it to the state, where it is kept for records and used to tabulate statistics.
To streamline the process, there is a push to go digital with the reports.
"What the state of Michigan wants to do is get the police departments to submit the crash reports electronically," City of Alpena Deputy Police Chief Kim Miller said.
Some departments have software at the police station but Miller said this grant will hopefully enable officers to send in reports even faster.
"Our goal is that not only would they be able to submit the report electronically, but that they would be right in the cars," he said.
Miller said each agency could have applied for the equipment on their own, but a collaborative effort improves the odds of receiving the grant.
Acquiring the equipment has been something Sheriff Steven Kieliszewski has wanted to do since elected. He said the system would expedite processing times and reduce errors on reports.
The computers would also give the officers access to the Law Enforcement Information Network, or LEIN.
"If (an officer) stops someone, they'll be able to run the individual to see if their license is valid, or if they have any priors," Kieliszewski said.
Officers currently have to get that information from central dispatch, so an additional benefit to the LEIN access is that their workload would be reduced, he said.
In addition to the six computers, mounting docks would be put in each agency's vehicles so the computers could be moved.
The grant is given by OHSP, but is reviewed by the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center. Kieliszewski said the departments should know if they were approved in September.
A total of $222,000 was asked for to purchase the equipment, and Kieliszewski said the reviewers could either approve that amount or reduce it.
There is no match funding for the grant, but the equipment would have to be purchased and then the buyer - which would have to be determined - would be reimbursed. If approved, the equipment would have to be purchased by Sept. 30, 2009.
Sean Harkins can be reached via e-mail at sharkins@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688
