Laptops boost efficiency of deputies in Los Angeles County (with related video)
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) vehicles are now equipped with mobile data computer systems (MDCS) from Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. LASD patrol cars, motorcycles, prisoner transport units, command vehicles and SUVs have been outfitted with the Raytheon-integrated computer systems. The $19.9 million technology upgrade replaces the 1987-era mobile digital technology previously used by the sheriff’s department.
The computer systems give more than 2,400 field units access to new public safety technologies. Deputies can use the Sheriff’s Data Network, department intranet and other criminal databases from their vehicles with the mobile computers. Officers can access a variety of law enforcement information, including fingerprint databases, manuals, DMV images, and penal and vehicle codes. The units enable expedited routing to emergency calls via a global positioning system (GPS). The system can be upgraded and maintained remotely.
“Raytheon worked closely with our sheriff’s deputies, engineers and technicians to integrate the latest public safety technologies and capabilities into our vehicles,” said Sheriff Lee Baca. “This new mobile data computer system will greatly increase the efficiency of deputies in the field, providing them more knowledge at their fingertips, and enabling them to do more for the public now and in the years ahead.”
The LASD will have access to Raytheon’s new Public Safety Regional Technology Center, opening in Downey, Calif., this winter, to maximize the capabilities of the system as new technologies become available. Raytheon has been preparing the way for the new UCLA Center for Public Safety Network Systems that will create a collaborative research forum that brings together academia, industry and public safety agencies.
LASD is the largest sheriff’s department in the world and has a budget of $2.4 billion. It serves Los Angeles County, with a population of more than 10 million and an area of more than 4,000 square miles.
