Fighting Crime With Higher Technology

A policeman's duty is to serve and protect in the rose city. Those requirements are getting easier with the help of new technology!

We understand some high-tech systems are being installed in the patrol cars up in Thomasville. The new mobile data terminal laptops are finally here.

And they're "top-of-the-line" when it comes to keeping officers "in-the-know."

Enforcing the law can be time-consuming when you constantly have to refer to dispatch.

But police in Thomasville say new technology is allowing them to get a few steps ahead.

"When the dispatcher gets the information she can send it directly to our computer so everything she knows about the call we know about the call because we get it directly," explains officer Jim Coker.

After months of waiting, the new mobile data terminal systems are being installed in 32 Thomasville patrol cars.

The Thomasville PD is only the second agency in the country to utilize a system like this one. Police say it will make communication easier car-to-car, car-to-dispatch, and car-to-internet.

"Even though they may be in the same patrol zone it will allow them to give each other messages and keep each other informed on things that are going on in particular areas of the city," says Lt. Mark Scott.

People in the area say they're glad to hear the laptops will make things easier for police, and safer for the community.

"I think any citizen would think if we can improve response time from any services like fire or police it would have to be a good thing," says Thomasville resident Karen Bryan.

All the cars are expected to have laptops installed by the end of this month; this will give the police high-end technology, and more time at their fingertips.

By the first of the year, police hope updates will allow them to do their reports straight through their computers. I understand this new system also helps regulate the officers' actions.

That's right, tracking devices will be installed in each officer's computer, so if he's hanging out in one spot for too long or speeding, dispatchers can tell right away.

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