Mobile data access increases officer efficiency - vehicular data access for police officers - Focus on Communications

Imagine a police department where all but emergency radio traffic is restricted due to a pursuit in one area of the city. Yet, a patrol officer on the other side of town still can make routine inquiries for vehicle registration or wanted person information. Although many departments may consider this scenario impossible, it is not. Officers can make inquiries quickly and conveniently before radio traffic resumes to normal and without burdening a dispatcher with routine requests. Officers can make such inquiries from an in-car data access terminal, a special computer installed directly in the patrol car.

There is safety in knowledge for any law enforcement officer. In-car data access provides an important new tool for law enforcement and an invaluable asset for officer safety. In fact, the Ohio State Highway Patrol discovered in a recent study that law enforcement officers with in-car data access technology made more than 8 times the information inquiries on driver's records, vehicle registrations, wanted persons, and property files per 8-hour shift than officers without in-car computers. This study offers some of the first quantifiable results documenting the increased officer efficiency associated with using in-car computers for accessing information.

THE FOUNDATION

All states have a computerized information system and network established for criminal justice agencies to access information from that state. Such systems also provide a link to national files, as well as those files from other states. Information stored in these systems commonly includes motor vehicle data, as well as wanted person and stolen property file information. Additionally, the systems respond to inquiries with "alerts" that indicate any outstanding arrest warrants or pertinent criminal information about the vehicle's registered owner. Ohio's statewide system, the Law Enforcement Automated Data System (LEADS), provided the data that officers accessed during the research project.

The technology used during this project is called cellular digital packet data (CDPD) and uses digital cellular networks already in place. CDPD uses the idle voice channels on an existing digital cellular network to reliably transmit and receive mobile data traffic. CDPD technology offers law enforcement agencies an alternative method for in-car data access without the need to redesign a department's entire radio system.

In addition, the system presents a method for in-car data access to small departments without the expense associated with installing an alternate network. Large agencies also can realize benefits through CDPD because the technology allows administrators the flexibility to choose the officers using the in-car data access capability and minimizes system operating expenses. Additionally, the system eliminates radio traffic because it is networked and allows communication from base to car or between cars. This capability enables administrators to specifically design enforcement strategies and programs involving officers equipped with the system. For example, officers could conduct covert operations with less danger of the subjects becoming aware of their activities, which can happen when offenders use police scanners to intercept radio traffic.

THE STUDY

Initially, a local cellular provider approached the Ohio State Highway Patrol proposing a project to study the concept and effectiveness of in-car data access, using CDPD technology, for law enforcement officers. In addition to the local cellular providers, the project involved a cooperative effort between the Ohio State Highway Patrol, a local computer software company, and six Ohio law enforcement agencies. The participating businesses donated all of the equipment necessary for this study. The six law enforcement agencies represented an aggregate grouping of the Ohio LEADS community.

Two police cars from each of the six participating law enforcement agencies were equipped with CDPD technology for use during the research project. Each in-car CDPD system included a laptop computer, a conventional or CDPD modern, and an externally mounted antenna. A desktop computer at each department worked as a server, or base station, and connected directly to the LEADS mainframe computer.

Several officers from each agency tested the CDPD system during the course of the research project. As required by the state, these officers had been LEADS-certified by the state of Ohio and had completed a training session on the operation of the CDPD system. At the conclusion of this training session, these officers began using the CDPD-LEADS system during their normal patrolling duties. This group served as the test group during the research project.

The research component of the CDPD-LEADS project involved evaluating officer efficiency and effectiveness by comparing the LEADS inquiries and hits for those officers using the CDPD-LEADS system (test group) to those without the system (control group). Analysts from the Ohio State Highway Patrol tallied the LEADS inquiries and hits for both the test group and the control group as part of this evaluation process. This information, gathered over 10 data collection days during the course of the 3-month research project, served as a statistical sample for the study.

Analysts from the Ohio State Highway Patrol then categorized the types of LEADS inquiries and hits for both the test and control groups into four classifications for each 24-hour period of the 10 data collection days. The four classifications, based on the LEADS file queried, encompassed vehicle registration, operator's licenses, articles, and wanted/warrant inquiries. The analysts then entered information into a computer spreadsheet program to generate the totals and analyze the results.

THE RESULTS

At the conclusion of the 10 days, the Ohio State Highway Patrol's research and development unit distributed final project evaluation forms to all officers involved in testing the CDPD-LEADS system. Additionally, officers from all of the agencies discussed their comments regarding the system.

The following statistics from the research project reflect the success of in-car LEADS access for law enforcement officers:

* based on information from the 10 data sampling days, officers in the test group made 17.12 percent more inquiries than those in the control group, despite working 8,604 fewer hours

* Throughout the 3-month duration of the project, 37 test-group officers made a total of 41,816 inquiries and generated a total of 805 alerts

* Officers in the test group made more than 8 times as many LEADS inquiries per 8-hour shift than officers in the control group

* Over the 10 data sampling days, officers in the test group generated a LEADS alert for every 17.18 hours worked, compared to the officers in the control group, who generated a LEADS alert for every 99.4 hours worked

* Officers in the test group averaged 18.94 more arrests/citations per month than officers in the control group.

Results from a Sample Comparing In-car Data Access to Traditional
Data Access

                                        With CDPD     Without CDPD

Total LEADS inquiries                   6,681         5,704

Total LEADS hits                        72            99

Total Officer hours worked              1,237         9,841

Average LEADS inquiries per officer
per 8-hour shift                        43.2          4.64

Average hours worked per LEADS hit      17.18         99.4

In addition to the statistics this research project produced, it also revealed several intangible benefits. The majority of law enforcement officers involved in the project believe that officer safety increases as the amount of information available to the officer increases. They said that prior knowledge regarding the registered owner and vehicle during a traffic stop represented a primary benefit of an in-car data access system.

Additionally, the ability for officers to conduct many of their own LEADS inquiries during the research project reduced the overall amount of radio communication within a given agency. This reduction may prove especially important for large agencies that dispatch not only for themselves but for multiple departments.

Furthermore, citation and violator information available on the in-car computer terminal eliminated the need to repeat the information over the radio and made it more accessible to officers. An officer could make any number of registration inquiries without burdening the dispatcher. The CDPD-LEADS system allowed officers to continue to conduct inquiries regardless of the status of the radio traffic or dispatchers. This allowed the officers to query license plates they may not have ordinarily requested, resulting in more significant LEADS hits.

Additionally, because officers using the CDPD-LEADS system did not rely on dispatchers for the inquiry responses, the officers received the same information in a more timely manner. Typically, LEADS information became available to officers using the CDPD-LEADS system in about 5-10 seconds, thus allowing officers to make more LEADS inquiries in a shorter amount of time.

The CDPD-LEADS system also acted as a morale booster for many officers. Officers in the test group said they became more aware of their surroundings because of the constant ability to make inquiries on vehicles while on duty. Many officers said they enjoyed going on patrol each day and that the CDPD-LEADS system helped break up the monotony sometimes common with working the same areas each day. Officers frequently would arrive early for their assigned shifts just to ensure that they received one of the CDPD-LEADS equipped cars.

Finally, many officers with CDPD-LEADS access believed they could make more quality arrests than without CDPD-LEADS access. For example, one officer got an alert while querying random vehicle registrations at a local restaurant. The alert identified the owner of the vehicle as having a record of a previous homicide and resisting arrest. The alert also warned the officer of active warrants for domestic violence in two Ohio counties. The officer radioed for backup units, positively identified the suspect, and subsequently took him into custody without incident. A passenger in the vehicle had active warrants and also was arrested.

CONCLUSION

In-car data access keeps officers in touch with headquarters and one another, while providing them with mission-critical law enforcement information. The Ohio State Highway Patrol's study revealed that officers with in-car data access made 8 times as many inquiries to the system, retrieved more hits, and made more arrests for more serious offenses than officers who had to go through the dispatcher for information. Moreover, officers provided with timely and accurate information on the potential dangers they face can better serve their communities and, as important, protect themselves.

Indeed, public safety and the safety of law enforcement officers remain concerns for all departments. In-car data access provides officers with a valuable tool needed to achieve these important goals.

Colonel Marshall serves as superintendent of the Ohio State Highway Patrol in Columbus, Ohio.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Federal Bureau of Investigation
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group