Overview | Law Enforcement Agencies Require Mobile Computers In Ever-Changing Circumstances
Across the country, law enforcement agencies face innumerable tough decisions every day while officers risk their lives to protect and serve their communities. When they’re out in the field, they need to be able to access information as quickly as possible while also taking down case reports and notes in an easy-to-manage way.
Challenges | Upgrading A Huge Fleet of Equipment and Ensuring It Operates In Extreme Weather Conditions
Whether you’re managing a large metropolitan agency with hundreds of officers, a small force spread out over a large rural area, or something in between, your agency’s needs are unique. For two forces on opposite sides of the country, their needs were met with a single piece of technology – the Panasonic Toughbook.
One department is located in the Southern United States and faces temperatures that average 90 degrees Fahrenheit daily through July and August. The extreme heat would routinely cause devices to overheat, and they needed to ensure that their devices would remain operable during extreme weather conditions and that their size and weight were functional enough for their officers – especially those on motorcycle units – to manage during their day-to-day use.
The other department, located on the West Coast, has a force of over 1,000 officers. They struggled to ensure that all of their patrol units had working, reliable equipment, and their motorcycle and marine units were even relegated to using pen and paper to take down incident reports. This considerably slowed the transmission of crucial information as everything needed to be called in through dispatch and made it nearly impossible for officers to get real-time updates before approaching a vehicle or suspect.
Both departments were concerned with the scalability of their solution – wanting to ensure that as their force grew and new equipment was added or replaced, everything would function properly.
Solution | Panasonic Toughbooks Meet A Wide Range of Needs
Ultimately, both departments landed on the Panasonic Toughbook to meet their needs.
For the department located in the South, they opted for a combination of three different Toughbook models – the ToughBook 31 for their motor units, Toughbook 20 for their crime suppression and narcotics officers, and the Toughbook 54 for their administrative and office needs. “We took demo units from several vendors and subjected them to some extreme tests to make sure they would work in the most extreme conditions,” said a Captain on the force. “We left laptops running in the storage trunk of one of our motorcycles for several hours on a hot summer day and the Toughbook passed with flying colors – continuing to work, despite the intense heat.”
The West Coast department also selected a combination of equipment, choosing the rugged Toughbook 31 laptops and FZ-G1 tablets for use in patrol cars, marine units, and motorcycle units.
Result | Reliable, Durable Technology Is Always On Hand
With various Panasonic Toughbook products deployed throughout both forces, they can now ensure their officers and administrative teams have reliable access to the critical information they need to do their jobs. Both departments deployed the Toughbook 31 laptops in their patrol car units, allowing officers to access the large display screen from their vehicles. At the same time, the West Coast department also deployed them in their marine units. The weather conditions and environment on the sea can change rapidly and be difficult to predict and manage, but the Toughbooks can withstand everything thrown their way. “If this were a standard computer, I don’t think it would make it past a couple of days,” said a Sergeant in the Marine unit.
Meanwhile, the FZ-G1 tablets were deployed across the motorcycle units of the West Coast department, allowing their officers to retrieve information during routine traffic stops or ever-changing emergency situations. They can now also deliver their incident reports immediately and electronically, rather than having to submit handwritten copies back to central command or call the information into dispatch.
About MCA
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