Parole Officers Close The Book On Paper
PAROLE OFFICERS CLOSE THE BOOK ON PAPER State parole officers in Georgia now rely on Gateway Tablet PCs to write down parolee interview notes. Weighing only three pounds, the computers’ batteries last much longer than the laptops previously used by the officers. As a result, officers can enter information as soon as they come back to their vehicles after an interview, since regulations require that the PCs remain inside police vehicles, according to Officer Russell Neal Bloodworth.
Officers use the tablet PC stylus to write and store handwritten notes, which are converted into a typewritten format by the tablet PCs. Mistakes can be corrected by selecting the eraser toolbar, and officers can use a transportable keyboard if they prefer.
The notes are then uploaded into the a centralized database at the officers’ main office.
The tablet PCs, made by Motion Computing, are currently being used by 23 federal agencies, says the firm’s CEO Scott Eckert.
They are marketed by the manufacturer as well as by Gateway, and will soon be distributed by Dell Computer, GovConnection, and Micro Warehouse; the devices are also being featured under these firms’ General Services Administration schedule contracts.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Federal Computer Week (08/18/03) Vol. 17, No. 28, P. 42; Bailey, Sarah.
