By David Hench
Portland Press Herald
| Related Article: News Report: Police budget cuts and economic crisis increase crime, endanger officers |
Maine police chiefs were treated to a display of the latest in gizmos and gear Thursday as part of the annual chiefs conference.
But the state of the economy and tight municipal budgets means there won’t be many departments able to squeeze the budget for an extra $20,000 for a camera to scan license plates, or $8,000 to buy a Segway - not that that stopped the chiefs from trying them out by zipping down the corridors of the Wyndham Hotel.
''I don’t think many departments are buying the latest things,’' said Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association conference. ''The problem is the money thing.’'
The annual meeting includes training sessions on the use of deadly force and other topics, but the vendor show is where police executives can take some time to daydream.
Such as spending that $20,000 on the Mobile Plate Hunter 900.
The system, says salesman Pat Fox, a retired Albany, N.Y., officer, maximizes an officer’s patrol potential. Cruiser-mounted infrared cameras continuously scan the license plates of passing cars, running the registrations through a database and sounding an alarm whenever it hits on a plate connected to a wanted person, a stolen car or even a revoked registration.
Can’t afford it? Schwartz said departments are hoping federal economic stimulus money could help them modernize.
At the other end of the spectrum was the Ticket Board, a sort of lap desk the officer keeps next to him for writing speeding tickets. The $80 item includes a lens under which the offender’s driver’s license is lit up and magnified, an illuminated clipboard to hold the officer’s ticket book, a display with the date and time, and a handy calculator for figuring out the appropriate fine.
Equally mundane, but just as functional, are collapsible barricades that can fit in the car trunk. No longer would blocking a road require wooden barricades. ''Ease of deployment’’ was also the selling point behind the PatrolBat - a collapsible, easy to carry bulletproof shield being pitched as a vital safety device when confronted with a school shooting.
Gear for public safety dispatchers was another area well-represented at the conference, with ergonomic work stations, improved radios and recording equipment, and chairs guaranteed to hold up to 550 pounds for six years. Schwartz said it is not unusual for police departments to replace dispatcher chairs annually.
Brian Ray was demonstrating the Stop Stick, a variation on the so-called spike mats that departments use to deflate the tires of fleeing vehicles. The Stop Stick has similar needle-sharp points and puncture rods that gradually deflate tires, but they are enclosed within a plastic shell that gets crushed as the car drives over it. That means less chance of an officer getting poked. The sticks are also tethered by an 80-foot cord, letting officers get well clear of the fleeing vehicle.
South Portland Chief Ed Googins said the annual conference is the only chance many Maine chiefs get to see state-of-the-art police technology on display.
Googins’ arrival at the show was probably a welcome sight for vendors. The department is known as one on the cutting edge of police technology in Maine.
Copyright 2009 Portland Press Herald