From a better pair of headphones to solutions straight from science fiction, new communications tools are emerging all the time. They run the gamut from simple to exceedingly complex, but all share common goals: to help law enforcement professionals communicate with one another more effectively and acquire the information they need more quickly.

“It expands our ability to do things,” said Craig Withycombe, an officer with the Lowell Police Department in Massachusetts, of a new communications tool at his agency. “We can begin to bundle and delineate information and get that information into the hands of officers more quickly. Where are my assaults happening? Where are my breaking and enterings (B&Es) happening? Which ones happened at a business, which ones are at a residence, and which ones are happening in motor vehicles?”

Withycombe is explaining PolicePad, a software package that optimizes a typical iPad for use by law enforcement. This means more than checking email or surfing the web. Broadcast message capabilities, coordination with fire departments, and data mapping are all literally in the palms of an officer’s hands. The camera on an iPad also streamlines communications by saving time and effort and allowing officers to photograph a victim or a crime scene.

“Now officers can take pictures in real time of injuries a victim may have suffered, a house that has been trashed by an exhusband, or something else along those lines,” Withycombe said. “Historically, someone had to come out and take pictures, and the detective had to decide whether to do that. But now, detectives can be self-sufficient. They take pictures right in that moment, as they deem necessary.”

In addition to providing new options for law enforcement, the tablet can be less expensive and more versatile than traditional equipment.

“Agencies large and small have told me that if they can do on a tablet what they can do on a computer, it’s a no-brainer,” said Gary Mueller, vice president of business development of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-based Zco Corporation, which developed the PolicePad software and similar applications for fire departments. “Some small agencies still don’t have computers in the car. To open up technology to them is huge. There’s no cost of ownership. You just turn it on and off. There are none of the usual problems that drive an information technology department crazy.”

Communications improve through the tablet because it essentially removes the middleman in many cases, empowering the officer at the point where decisions are made.

“You have fingertip access to all your information. This is smart policing on the street,” Mueller said. “You don’t have to wait for a B&E map to come out from CompStat. An officer sees a certain trouble area and says, ‘Maybe I should swing by there more often.’ The more information you give to officers in the field, the safer and smarter they’ll be.”

These solutions and others like them are revolutionizing law enforcement communications. Officers and their technologies can work more quickly and smoothly together. Surveillance and emergency responses are streamlined, as these tools can serve as extra eyes and ears in the field.

For example, GraffitiTech, a California firm, employs a matrix of sensors to detect and report graffiti vandalism. Companies such as Sprint, Verizon, Appriss, Information Builders, and New World Systems are all building new and better software to help law enforcement agencies communicate better and work smarter.

These days, if there’s a need, chances are there’s an app for that. Law enforcement is no exception, whether you’re looking to improve workflows with Lextech, create a personal mobile security system with MyForce, or quickly detect gunfire with ShotSpotter.

“There is a host of applications, solutions, and devices designed for public safety. There are even crawler apps now that monitor social media,” said Dominic DeMark, Verizon Enterprise Solutions area vice president for state and local government. “You can select certain words, groupings, or phrases and do predictive analysis to help you learn about flash mobs or similar nefarious events.”

It is possible that this could be only scratching the surface. Smartphones and tablets are today’s setting for innovation of communications and processes. Tomorrow, it could be smart cars. In fact, voice-recognition software, streamlined in-car messaging systems, and other connectivity capabilities from companies such as Massachusetts-based Agero already are a reality. But that could be just the beginning.

“We have two innovation centers,” DeMark said. “If someone had the idea to build a connected squad car with full GPS, biometrics, streaming video, and telemetry, we could create a pilot around that and work with them in one of our innovation labs.”

Along with these new frontiers, existing communications tools are being repurposed or reimagined. Traditional mobile data computers (MDC), for example, are getting faster and more flexible all the time.

Tara Racano, marketing manager for New Jersey-based L-3 Mobile-Vision, said the company’s new MDC, called the V-One, was developed with an eye toward the future.

“As technology requirements keep going up, this MDC will be able to handle it,” Racano said.

The V-One’s durability also is a plus, Racano said, as are new standard features like Wi-Fi capacity and short-range wireless technology Bluetooth.

“It can get as dirty as dirty can be. It would be very much at home with a K-9 unit,” Racano said. “But it’s also a powerful investment. You have the capability of using a second monitor. So in a mobile command unit, you could run a second monitor in the back. With Bluetooth being standard, you could add on your own keyboard or printer. Anything you want to do, you can do faster.”

For many police departments around the country, the relatively humble radio transmitter now helps officers locate dementia patients and other segments of the population at risk of wandering away and getting lost—or worse. Gene Saunders, founder and CEO of Project Lifesaver International, a nonprofit organization in Virginia, said the transmitters slash recovery time by 95 percent, and in the process help stop tragedies before they occur.

“Alzheimer’s, dementia, and autism populations are doing nothing but exploding. These incidents of wanderers, therefore, are going to do nothing but increase,” Saunders said. “Finding them is a police situation; that’s almost always who gets called. If you’re lucky, you find the wanderer quickly and unharmed. But unfortunately, that’s not the way it normally turns out. You usually spend enormous manpower, and you may or may not find them, or find them alive. Time is of the essence because these children and adults get confused quickly. They lose their way and continue to press on until they get into trouble.”

Saunders said the tool, which involves affixing radio-equipped bracelets to the wrist or ankle of someone at risk of wandering, has communications benefits that go beyond emergency-response situations.

“We’ve been called one of the best community relations organizations ever devised,” Saunders said. “We come in, and we offer agencies two days of instruction not just on the technology but the disorders. Afterward, every 30–60 days, an officer or a volunteer visits the family and changes the battery and the band. We do this first because we want to make sure it gets done and done correctly. But you also start to develop a rapport with these families, which are usually under a lot of stress. They become allies of the law enforcement agency. They see us in a different light because we’re assisting them with a family member who’s at risk. Having citizens who are allies is a tremendous asset.”

Ultimately, cutting-edge software will not be fully effective without good hardware to support it. Some hardware providers, such as EarthCam webcams, Disguised Antennas, Invisio Headsets, battery and electronics supplier BatteryJack Incorporated, and Motorola create products that directly facilitate communications. Others, such as weather sensor and portable weather station manufacturer Climatronics Corporation and Fulcrum Biometrics, which ensures the security of communications through fingerprinting and related tools, do so more indirectly but still offer important communications benefits.

Rick Bright, national manager for radio and accessory manufacturer OTTO, based in Illinois, said accessories need to keep up with technology.

“Everyone is moving to digital from analog. The quality of voice transmission and noise cancelling become more important because digital can blink out when working with a major radio company,” Bright said.

And while many law enforcement tools are evolving, the need for effective communication is fundamental and immutable.

“If you’re out in traffic, in a crowded protest, or a sporting event, the dispatcher needs to be able to pick out your voice,” Bright said. “It’s as simple as that. You have to be able to have them understand you. Being able to communicate effectively with all the necessary parties is very important.” ♦

Please cite as:

Scott Harris, “Communications Hardware and Software,” Product Feature, The Police Chief 80 (March 2013): 38–41.