Law Enforcement Technology

FEB 2014

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36 Law Enforcement Technology February 2014 www.officer.com TA L K I N G P O I N T S L aw enforcement managers take note— your database can play a more important role than you realize in achieving safe and effective inter-agency sharing. The high-profile Pima, Arizona shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 citizens that occurred on Jan. 8, 2011 offers a great example. At 10:11 a.m. Southern Arizona's Pima County Sheriff 's Department started receiving what would become several hundred calls for help, where dispatchers entered the calls into computer-aided dispatch (CAD) software, including assailant details, and quickly assigned nearby units to respond. Deputies used laptops to see the address and location of the shooting on a map, the status of all responding units, and a list of real-time call comments describ- ing both the attack and the assailant. The first deputy arrived at the scene at 10:15 a.m., four minutes after the initial call was received. As the severity of the incident became apparent, dispatchers called for backup from neighboring agencies, including the Oro Valley Police Department and Marana Police Department, eventually ten total agencies. These departments had CAD system sharing arrangements with Pima County, giving officers access to real-time updates on the address, loca- tion, responding units and call comments. By 10:16 a.m., Jared Loughner had been arrested, and medical personnel were treating the injured. Deputies identified the shooter, recovered his driver license, entered his name into the shared records system and discovered a record from the Pima County Community College Police Department from September 2010, when he was suspended for being disrup- tive in class and posting inflammatory videos on the Internet. From that record, deputies could see Loughner's address, previous criminal incidents, known associates, and vehicles regis- tered in his name. Pima County's Public Information Officer Dawn Barkman characterized the role of the database in the CAD system: "This incident would have been a complete chaotic mess if communications had to deal with it in the old CAD system that did not directly interface with a relational database, or even scarier, [deal with it] on paper." Benefits of CAD, and what to look for Advanced CAD systems deliver information that ensures greater safety and improved situ- ational awareness for officers responding to emergency calls. Real-time versus cached In 2000, the U.S. 911 system handled an average of 500,000 calls daily (about 183 mil- lion annually), according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, and how calls are handled varies throughout North America. For example, when 911 calls or texts come into an emergency call center, a dispatcher enters the information into the CAD system, then deter- mines which field unit should respond. Systems set up to cache data may cause a delay of critical seconds between entering the call and assigning the field unit. However, when a CAD system can deliver data in real-time, officers may see the call data as it is entered, even before the dispatcher selects the available unit to respond. In the field you may realize that you are closest and respond, shaving off vital seconds. Their role and benefits for emergency response A D V A N C E M E N T S I N P U B L I C S A F E T Y T E C H N O L O G Y The ins and outs of CAD systems Chris Hellewell Chris Hellewell is senior vice president of product development at Spillman Technologies, providers of public safety software integrat- ed with the FairCom c-treeACE database. In 2010, the Utah Technology Council recognized Hellewell as Utah's CTO of the Year. Hellewell is a member of the IJIS Institute's Criminal Justice Information Service (CJIS) Programs Advisory Committee (CPAC). Advanced CAD systems help offcers responding to emergencies and crime scenes by increasing safety and situational awareness…but not all CAD systems are equal. LET_36-38_TalkingPoints0214.indd 36 1/24/14 12:29 PM

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