The system, owned and operated by Fresno, is designed to allow officers to send and receive text, images and videos via "in-vehicle" computers and handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs); and provide the backbone for an emerging technological capability referred to as "video policing.''
The system is designed to allow police officers and headquarters to communicate during traffic stops, while patrolling the streets on foot, while conducting criminal investigations and while moving through and around buildings. The chief said it will also help police safeguard the city's critical infrastructure, several federal installations including a strategic wing of the Air National Guard, the Federal Courthouse and part of the nearly $2.8 billion dollars in agricultural products the area produces each year(1).
Fresno's Chief Dyer said, "Although this capability will certainly be used to enhance Homeland Security in Fresno, its most important contribution is in making the community safer from everyday crime related to gangs, substance abuse and recidivist offenders.''
Using the wireless mobile network, the system is designed to allow officers to:
- Download mug shots and live streaming video of suspects and unfolding police situations
- Transmit crime scene images back to headquarters
- Access law enforcement databases to receive and transmit vital information
- File police reports
- Conduct instant messaging conversations with colleagues in the field and at the station house.
Designed with expansion in mind, the network will employ a microwave transmission capability funded by a grant from the federal Department of Justice, Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) obtained for the Police Department by Fresno's Mayor Alan Autry. The microwave network could serve as a common communications infrastructure for the region's local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, which now have incompatible communications systems.
"Police officers need to be outside the cruiser much of the time to do their jobs properly,'' said Chief Dyer. "It's the best way to build relationships with citizens and to ensure the safety of the officers and the public. This system should empower the officer to perform better on the job.''
"To optimize the effectiveness of our law enforcement professionals, we need to enhance their ability to access and use information in an efficient and timely fashion. The system provides the 'communication backbone' that will allow all of our personnel to do so and to make informed decisions more quickly.''
In the future, broadband wireless communication will be enabled for the computer terminals in Fresno's 250 police cruisers.
Fresno expects to extend the capability to police motorcycles, detective vehicles and helicopters. These new vehicle-based systems will be able to communicate with the handheld devices and with police headquarters.
The Fresno Police Department's patrol cars are currently outfitted with an 800 Mhz system designed for data communication. This original system lacks encryption capability and is too slow to handle new data types, like video. The new system will leverage the in-car equipment already in place, protecting the department's investment in existing technology.
The system is designed to transmit and receive at 100,000 bits per second, fast enough to permit video.
The software will run on an IBM eServer xSeries server, using an Intel Xeon processor.
(1) According to United States Department of Agriculture "2002 Census of Agriculture County Profile, Fresno, California,'' the total value of agricultural products produced by Fresno County in 2002 was $2,759,421,000, the most of any county in the nation. Leading products produced include grapes and other fruits, cattle and calves, poultry and eggs. More information is available online.
