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Published on Thursday, September 25, 2003
in the Gainesville Sun
State troopers in North Florida are getting a new tool that will allow them to call up important driver's license information while still on the road.
Within a couple of weeks, they will have air cards in all squad cars, making it possible for them to bypass a number of radio calls to dispatchers and connect directly to the Internet.
"We are installing air cards into the laptop computers that the troopers have so that they can bring up information immediately, like the photo and signature on your driver's license," said Lt. Tommy Moore, a statewide public affairs officer. "This is something we have had in other parts of the state, and now we will be able to use it in North Florida."
FHP is switching companies to make the Internet connections possible virtually statewide and to speed up the connection with near broadband speeds.
"When we got the AT&T system a few years ago, we didn't realize there was no connectivity in parts of North Florida," said Lt. Mike Burroughs, the spokesman for FHP in North Florida. "We did a lot of research and found out that Sprint could connect us from just about everywhere."
The database they will be able to access provides more information about drivers and vehicles than they can get from radio dispatchers.
For example, by calling up a driver's photo and signature, something a radio dispatcher could only describe, troopers will be able to identify driver's license fraud.
In addition to providing troopers with more information, the cards are expected to help save time, cut down on paperwork and reduce typographical errors.
FHP officials said the system will let troopers automatically transmit traffic-ticket information to the county clerk's office, which cuts back on paperwork and reduces typographical errors made when information from tickets written by hand are entered into courthouse computers.
"We know there will still be a few pockets where troopers will not be able to connect, and we will continue to have our radio system as a back up for situations like that," Burroughs said.
The air-card system will cost about $65 a month for each trooper, an increase of about $20 a month.
"It makes it easier for us to get messages out, too," Burroughs said. "Now we can send out a message without having to make paper copies, put them in the troopers' boxes and then leaving voice messages telling the troopers they have messages to be picked up."
The state's 1,700 troopers will have limited access to the Internet, only being able to reach state sites.
"The next thing for us that is just around the corner is having trooper dispatched by computer," Burroughs said. "We are rapidly moving into the computer era of law enforcement."