EVERETT – Crime prevention officer Steve Paxton can print a flier about fraud, show a DVD on auto theft and dictate a report – all from the back seat of his 2004 Volkswagen Touareg.
On Thursday, the Everett Police Department rolled out Paxton’s new ride – a bright blue and green “crime prevention in motion” sports utility vehicle.
The SUV is part of the department’s new wireless, high-tech fleet that aims to keep officers out of the office and on the street.
“When they have to go to the office to do paperwork, it takes them away from their area of responsibility,” Capt. Mike Campbell said. “This is going to keep officers out on the street so they can be more responsive to calls in their area.”
Since last year, the department has built a wireless computer network, equipping 10 patrol cars and two other police vehicles with mobile routers and radio transmitters.
Officers who use the vehicles can tap into the Internet and the city’s intranet while they are in certain areas around the city. They can look up state laws, department policies and procedures, and check e-mail from their patrol cars.
In addition, voice-recognition software allows them to dictate their reports without typing a word, or check a license plate or the criminal background of a suspect.
About 30 officers surveyed said they spend about four hours out of each 12-hour shift at a desk doing administrative duties such as typing police reports, Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
“The whole idea behind this is to put our people in the field and in contact with the people they serve,” Police Chief Jim Scharf said.
Security measures prevent others from using the wireless network, Bryant said.
Two vehicles – Paxton’s and Bryant’s – are loaded with enough electronics to make any gadget junkie envious.
They are wired to be “roaming hot zones,” meaning computers near them can connect to the Internet or the city’s intranet.
“Potentially, we could have three or four laptops working off one car,” Bryant said.
This could come in handy if there is a major disaster and various officers need to access procedures and send or receive information from the city’s Emergency Operation Center.
The two vehicles also are equipped with televisions, printers and DVD players. The SUV has a camera that can feed to a 32-inch television mounted in the back.
Potentially, officers could send live video of a disaster to the city’s Web site to alert residents about an evacuation or dangerous situation.
Paxton finds the camera handy to catch the attention of preschoolers. On Thursday morning, he rolled up to a group of preschoolers to talk about safety. He focused the camera on the kids so they could see themselves on the big screen.
“It breaks down the wall and gets them to pay attention to what I’m saying,” he said.
It cost the city about $90,000 in block grant money for the equipment for the wireless project. The extras came from corporate sponsors. The city leases the SUV for $1 a year from Pignataro Volkswagen.
Paxton, who does about a 150 community presentations a year, said the new technology will save him time and get more information out to the community faster.
“There’s only one of me, and I can’t be everywhere at once,” he said. “It boils down to being able to multiply my efficiency with technology.”
Reporter Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463 or hefley@heraldnet.com.
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