Cell Phones Give Data, Photos In Michigan
By Larry P. Vellequette, The Toldeo Blade
Monroe, Michigan -- For technophiles it’s a significant step forward in putting law enforcement on the cutting edge of information technology.
Detective John Plath just calls the latest gadget on his crime-fighting utility belt “pretty cool.”
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is one of only six law enforcement agencies nationwide participating in a pilot project that seeks to make available nearly all the information any officer would need via a tiny cellular phone.
Detective Plath and his colleague, Detective Dave Davison, have been equipped with over-the-counter Nextel cell phones that have small color screens.
Using software developed by two firms, the two detectives can punch a few buttons on the numeric keypad and instantly call up not only whether a subject has any warrants, but also a picture of that person if he or she has been an overnight guest at the Monroe County Jail.
Such detailed information normally would require a deputy to return to his work station or to his cruiser if it is equipped with a laptop computer.
“When you’re out on the street, away from your car and access to your normal jail records, it will be really useful,” Detective Plath said.
Ronald White, a retired Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, is the chief operating officer of WireHound of Las Vegas which, along with ID Networks of Ashtabula, Ohio, is running the test with Monroe County.
Mr. White said the software the two firms have developed that’s being tested by Detectives Davison and Plath could revolutionize law enforcement by giving officers on the street the tools and information they need at their fingertips.
“When I was an officer, I could have saved a whole lot of time if I would have been able to identify people in the field,” Mr. White said. “This is lifesaving technology we’re doing.”
When the tests are complete - some bugs are still being worked out, Mr. White said - the technology will be marketed to law enforcement agencies across the country. Plans call for a one-time activation fee of about $40 to program the phone, and then a $10 per unit per month charge.
Doug Blenman II, project manager with ID Networks, said Monroe County was picked to participate in the pilot project because the department is considered one of the most technologically advanced in the state.
The Sheriff’s Office “already uses our booking system,” Mr. Blenman said. “Their [booking] photos pull through my software. It was a natural fit to deliver that information to another medium, such as the phones.”
He said his firm and WireHound have just begun to explore the infinite possibilities of what types of information can be provided via cell phone to officers in the field.
The biggest roadblock so far, Mr. Blenman said, has been waiting for cell phone providers to upgrade their networks, enabling them to transmit large amounts of data. Those upgrades are planned over the next several years as part of the implementation of so-called “third generation” cell phone technologies.
“There’s really no end to what can be done. The delivery of the data and the possibilities once you become mobile with a phone become endless,” Mr. Blenman said.
Monroe County Sheriff Tilman Crutchfield said though only two officers in the department are participating in the 90-day trial, he already can see how useful such a device would be to officers across the country.
“Probably the most useful function is the availability of accessing jail records and photographs so that [officers] can readily access those files out in the field when they’re looking for someone,” Sheriff Crutchfield said.
If the cell phones have any drawback right now, it’s the fact that, so far at least, the information available to deputies is coming only from the Sheriff’s Office itself and the Law Enforcement Information Network, or LEIN. But that is likely to change if the pilot program goes well, the Sheriff said.
“I’m sure that as this technology becomes more widely used, other agencies will also share their data as well,” Sheriff Crutchfield said.