More than many people realize, law enforcement in the U.S. is a small-town business. Nearly half of America’s local police departments (46%) have fewer than 10 sworn officers, and roughly three-quarters have fewer than 25.
There’s plenty to like about such small towns and jurisdictions, but for first responders they can bring limitations as well. Those can be operational, related to manpower and resources, and often financial, due to reliance on local general funds and limited tax bases. Yet those departments face many of the same serious problems as their big-city counterparts and require enforcement tools just as advanced and capable as those used by their major metropolitan colleagues.
While it’s served many larger jurisdictions over its lengthy history, Kustom Signals — a prominent provider of speed enforcement and video technology for law enforcement that serves more than 18,000 domestic agencies and in more than 90 countries — maintains a particular connection with, and focus on, the needs of those smaller departments.
“We have a premium product we can sell to larger customers like state and federal police, but our bread and butter is really the smaller agencies,” said Kent Hayes, the company’s senior product manager for speed enforcement. “Whoever the client is, we have products that can make officers’ jobs easier and more efficient.”
“We’re a company that will adapt and grow with you, whether you’re a department of two or 200,” added video product manager Harry Spencer. “Whatever your situation is, we’ll find a solution that works for you, not for what somebody else’s problem was.”
On the leading edge of technology
An unusual history of more than six decades underscores Kustom Signals’ adaptability.
The company evolved out of Kustom Electronics, a top maker of amplifiers for touring musical acts, back in the 1960s. Known for their durable solid-state designs and colorful tuck-and-roll coverings, Kustom Amps powered major artists like the Jackson 5, Johnny Cash and John Fogerty/Creedence Clearwater Revival, as well as regional and local acts that could buy their amps along with speaker columns in complete PA-style systems.
With that expertise in electronics, Kustom expanded into making radar products and car monitors. Its first digital readout radar debuted in 1969–70, followed by additional products throughout the decade and in-car video in the ’80s. By the 1990s it added lidar, and subsequent additions and innovations have continued since.
“Kustom Signals has been on the leading edge of technology for a number of years – we even had divisions in avionics and also communications consoles for a while,” said Hayes. “There have been a lot of mergers and acquisitions over the years, but today Kustom Signals is really about law enforcement supply. We’ve been a leader in video products for nearly 40 years, and with speed enforcement we’ve produced multiple generations of products.”
The company’s radar offerings include handheld and in-car models, and it also offers handheld lidar. Its Argus video suite encompasses body cameras, in-car systems and digital evidence management.
Each of these components can be individually deployed and fully meet departments’ needs, but in this era of integration, they can deliver added gains when combined.
“Our video and speed enforcement products are separate but can work in conjunction — our newest-generation Argus video platform integrates with our newer in-car radar,” said Spencer. “That’s something we can provide that not everyone can.”
Acquire targets at greater distances
For speed enforcement, Kustom Signals’ primary handheld radar products include the Falcon HR and Directional Talon. Both are highly accurate; the main distinction between them is their frequency and range.
The Falcon HR operates on the K band, at 24.125 GHz. That’s a common police radar frequency that offers a practical balance of range, antenna size and target discrimination. It can be handheld or dash-mounted. The Ka band used by the Directional Talon, at 33.4–36.0 GHz, became popular in the 1990s and provides greater range and precision. In many areas Ka is now the primary modern police radar band. Both models feature digital signal processing that allows tracking of multiple targets.
“The K band radar performs very well, but the Ka will let you reach out and acquire targets at greater distances,” Hayes explained. “The control, display and user interface are all exactly the same.” A third handheld model, the Falcon Marine, is geared for use on the water. All three are accessibly priced for smaller and lesser-resourced departments.
In-vehicle options include the Eagle 3 and Raptor RP-1. The former is an update to the company’s Eagle II, an older product that’s still serving many departments.
The Eagle 3 is the first radar that permits independent verification of Doppler patrol speed without an electrical connection. Patented wireless speed sensing technology uses satellite signals to verify Doppler ground speed. It also features a patented advanced tuning fork test method that simplifies that time-consuming standard test, which traditionally verified radar accuracy by striking forks before the radar antenna and ensuring their vibration speeds were measured correctly.
Integrating the tuning fork signal into the radar’s remote control makes that process electronic and eliminates the need to carry and manage multiple tuning forks. It also reduces the time required to check the front and rear antennas to less than 20 seconds. Test results are logged in the radar’s internal memory, easily downloadable for court.
The Eagle 3 also features touchscreen control, target tracking bars, automatic mode switching, an events log, and a scan mode that simplifies target tracking and can measure targets from both the front and rear antennas simultaneously.
The Raptor RP-1 is a rugged, simpler system geared for motorcycle and basic patrol use. The industry’s pioneer in radar trailers, Kustom Signals also offers supplemental speed-control products like speed displays, speed and messaging trailers, traffic data collection and a dash-mounted time and distance tracker. Displays and trailers are a strong community relations tool, allowing departments to act against local problems without redirecting manpower.[JE1]
Key lidar products include the ProLaser 4 and LaserCam 4, which adds video. Both have ranges up to 8,000 feet. Among the ProLaser 4’s unique features, it can be powered by off-the-shelf AA batteries or a USB connection. “That means no concerns about being able to use the equipment because you ran out of batteries or your rechargeable battery is dead,” noted Hayes. “You’re never without power.” Batteries last more than 30 hours, covering multiple shifts.
The ProLaser 4 also brings ergonomic advantages over its predecessor, with improved weight distribution and balance, and big advantages in target specificity. Its beam is extremely narrow — about 1 foot horizontally at 1,000 feet — helping officers isolate specific vehicles. That means even at 3,000–4,000 feet, it’s still just capturing the target vehicle, not those in adjacent lanes.
The LaserCam 4 adds a digital camera that permits detailed views at extended range, with a 36x optical zoom for long-range identification of plate numbers and improved enforcement around infractions like cell phone use and seat belt violations.
The video also provides target tracking history for stronger prosecutions. Like the radar products, it’s stored internally with key utilities for management. That secures against potential tampering and ensures chain of custody.
What the courts will want
Kustom Signals’ Argus line of video products encompasses body cameras, in-car video and a digital evidence management system, Argus Data Vault.
In the vehicle, dual-view cameras can capture both wide-angle and telephoto views simultaneously in 1080p. The telephoto lens can pivot to record key events. A wide-view interior camera adds infrared to catch all detainee activity, and footage is managed via an Android tablet that can combine multiple views for both live feeds and review.
“There are multiple ways to set up any sort of triggers you want — we’re very hands-on in our deployments and will work with you,” said Spencer. “The adaptability of the tablet is a big difference; it can be mounted in different ways with up to four cameras, but you don’t have to stick with the standard configuration. In a transport vehicle, for instance, maybe you don’t need the front cameras but want a bunch of interior cameras. We can do that. Configurability really is a separator for us.”
The in-car system syncs with Argus body cams, allowing others to view their feeds. Those offer hands-free voice and automatic activation in events like pursuits and falls, as well as event reporting when cellular connectivity is enabled, enabling immediate alerts to command.
The Argus Data Vault centralizes management of all captured videos, allowing live views from devices and temporary links for controlled sharing. Users can set all their own roles and permissions, and data can be stored on local servers or the cloud. Data Vault can also hold other nonvideo file types, from photographs to spreadsheets to call logs, keeping all case evidence together and securing chain of custody.
“Departments really want full ecosystems — it’s not just about buying a body camera anymore,” said Spencer. “Lots of people can offer similar hardware capabilities. The difference is what marries everything together — that back office. For us it’s Argus Data Vault. When we talk about it being fast and easy, having that integration and giving you a clear, concise, easily accessible way to save an entire traffic stop from the initial speed to the pulling over and walking up to the actual interaction with the driver, all in one piece of evidence, is definitely unique for us.”
“By tying it all together, you’ve got video evidence of your speed and your target tracking history,” added Hayes. “That’s something I anticipate courts are going to want more and more.”
You are the mold
A few more components go into Kustom Signals’ customer-focused approach.
“When we do our deployment process, we are very much focused on the white glove treatment,” said Spencer. “We don’t want to be some big company that sells you our devices and then goes hands-off.” Users won’t encounter paywalls or extra fees that crop up later. They retain their data if device licenses expire. Smaller departments without high-level funding can avoid long contracts and stick with local servers if that’s what their budgets permit. (And Kustom Signals’ products are compatible with the funding requirements of many top grant programs.)
“To build trust with departments and communities, we have to be adaptable and flexible,” Spencer added. “That’s what we’ve built into our platforms. We’re not forcing you to fit a mold. You are the mold. Here’s our platform — let’s make it fit you.”
For more information, visit Kustom Signals.
