It’s been a long investigation, but the regional narcotics task force is closing in. The car it’s currently tailing is driven by a midlevel trafficker suspected of moving fentanyl through numerous suburban neighborhoods. A pursuing detective follows at a distance in an unmarked car.
Unexpectedly, the suspect turns into the parking lot of a crowded shopping center, parks and exits his vehicle. This is a twist – in this environment, he could meet a contact for a handoff or simply disappear into the crowd. For the detective, more information would be useful: What’s this guy’s full history? Does he have warrants? Violent associates? Registered vehicles noted nearby? It would all be good to know, but she needs to know it quickly, and delays contacting dispatch could mean losing the target.
Inside the mall’s entrance is a small community policing office. Asking a nearby security guard to keep eyes on her suspect, the detective quickly steps inside and drops her mobile device – a TC78 handheld computer from Zebra Technologies – into a cradle that’s linked to a full-size monitor, keyboard and printer. Her phone’s screen instantly appears on the monitor and is transformed into a complete desktop workstation.
Within moments the detective is reviewing surveillance feeds from mall cameras, running DMV and NCIC checks for the suspect and known associates, and cross-referencing license plates from the mall lot. In minutes she produces a BOLO flier with photos and a description, copies of which are distributed to arriving patrol units, mall security and store personnel.
Armed with this information, backup officers enter the mall and corral the suspect near the entrance. The arrest is clean, safe and controlled – thanks in large part to the quick information pivot of the initial pursuing detective.
Connecting all cops
The tool at the heart of this scenario is Zebra’s Workstation Connect. Using that simple cradle, it leverages Zebra mobile and tablet computers into complete workstations, providing full desktop capabilities without a desktop or laptop.
“The concept is to minimize the number of devices an officer needs,” said Lesly Gonzalez, product manager for the line. “An app goes on the mobile device so that when it’s in this cradle, it can essentially mirror what’s on the mobile device onto another monitor. Instead of a laptop, the monitor is pretty much hooked up to your phone.”
This supports an important concept that’s emerged in the last decade, driven by advancing technology and information needs: the “connected cop.” Broadly, this idea refers to equipping officers with integrated digital tools and constant connectivity that can help them operate more safely, effectively and efficiently in the field. Rather than relying just on their cars’ MDTs for these linkages, connected cops can become fully networked human nodes by carrying devices that give them real-time access to information, communications and situational awareness wherever they are.
Many departments now use handheld devices – department-issued or sometimes even officers’ personal cell phones – as the backbone of such an approach. Other common components include integrated radios and push-to-talk over LTE; streaming body-worn cameras; wearables and sensors; in-car systems like dashcams and license plate recognition; and equipment linked to the Internet of Things.
Even with enhanced connectivity, however, officers face frequent tasks that may be more easily accomplished with a large screen, keyboard, mouse and other peripherals. These can include extensive data entry, using complicated or information-dense applications, and accessing multiple apps simultaneously. Workstation Connect supports that idea by attaching these capabilities to Zebra handhelds, turning them into the only computer an officer needs.
Benefits of the connected cop
Within the connected cop idea lie several distinct benefits.
- Operational efficiency: Wireless digital operations reduce manual tasks, paperwork and time spent back at the station. Popping your phone into a cradle saves the time needed to transition to a laptop and go through another process of accessing what you need. “The premise is, with one device, everything can happen from your hand,” Gonzalez said.
- Situational awareness: Connectivity provides officers instant access to important data (e.g., suspect histories, building layouts, facial recognition matches), and having fewer tools to manipulate means they can keep more focus on people and events and minimize the distractions of technology.
- Safety: Supervisors and dispatch know exactly where connected officers are and can see and hear their situations in real time. Real-time information flows constantly to them and back to command, elevating everyone’s situational awareness.
- Cost savings: Reduced hardware means reduced purchase and maintenance costs. “Workstation Connect, for example, can represent a significant savings because it gets rid of multiple different setups and reduces the hardware needed,” Gonzalez said. “You can just leverage the same device to do everything.”
That includes multiple things at once: With Workstation Connect, the monitor need not just reflect what’s on the mobile device; it can also serve as a second monitor, as in multiple-monitor systems, for easy toggling between apps and tasks.
Additional benefits of consolidating hardware into a mobile-plus-cradle approach include reduced training time for staff; simplified transitions between the station and car and field; and easier IT support.
The system’s Connect Cradles provide HDMI to support any brand of high-resolution monitors, as well as Ethernet for wired networks, a jack for wired headsets, and four USB-A ports to connect a keyboard, mouse, printer and scanner. Using mobile devices through Workstation Connect also reduces energy use by more than half from desktop computers, Zebra notes.
Streamlining is essential
There are lots of ways to increase the connectivity of connected cops, but at some point, as they’re increasingly burdened by devices and switching among systems, returns may start to diminish – they may require more thought in making decisions, become slower to jump and be more prone to errors. Information is good, but streamlining is essential.
Some common ways to accomplish that include intelligent filtering and prioritization (e.g., relevance-based information delivery, suppression of “noise”); using unified platforms with contextual single-pane-of-glass information display rather than fragmented apps; voice and natural language interactions (e.g., hands-free queries, summarized responses); role-based information management (e.g., patrol officers may not need the same depth of intelligence data as detectives or supervisors); and training (e.g., teaching officers to manage and prioritize digital inputs like they do radio traffic, scenario-based practice).
With cradles in vehicles and stations, Workstation Connect supports the simplification and streamlining of officers’ information needs by consolidating four discrete systems into one: the mobile device, MDT, desktop computer and PBX handset.
“It really benefits efficiency and productivity,” said Gonzalez. “An officer in the field won’t have to take the time to deal with the laptop in their car – they can put their phone in a cradle and everything they need just pops up. That could make traffic stops quicker as well as so many other things they do.”
For more information, visit Zebra Technologies.
