Because hybrids are smaller and lack the trunk room of traditional police vehicles, and can’t currently attain high speeds, West Dundee-at least initially-will not use its hybrid for traffic patrol, unless it proves worthy of the task. However, Sawyer states he’s willing to give the hybrid a fair shake. “I think we owe it to the public and my village officials to give it a shot,” he says. “If we can cut back on costs, that’s what we should do, especially in this economy.”
While the promise of hybrids in terms of cost savings seems attractive, hybrid vehicles for police use remains in its infancy. There are some roadblocks that are keeping departments from adding these lean, green, crime-fighting machines. Among the issues yet to be resolved:
- Higher cost. Hybrids cost $2,000 to $5,000 more than traditional vehicles.
- Increased weight from battery packs.
- Less acceleration.
- Lower top speed.
- High battery replacement costs. While battery packs should last the life of the vehicle, with the number of miles departments pack on, batteries may need replacing. And the price tag for battery replacement is approximately $3,000.
- The need for police packages. A police package with a stiffer suspension for high-speed maneuvers and a larger battery to power more sophisticated equipment is needed.
- Officer skepticism. “We have many old-timers who are totally against their use,” Sawyer admits. “But I’ve asked them to at least give it a try. We owe it to the people in our community; they pay our bill.”
Saving Trees
The Hammonton (N.J.) Police Department, like many departments across the country, had a paper problem. Every national and local broadcast message coming into its dispatch center from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) terminal printed out separately on a single sheet of paper.
Over the course of a year, this amounted to approximately 90,000 sheets of paper (18 cases at a cost of $595) and nine toner cartridges (a cost of $990). Because the printouts contained sensitive information, the department also had to shred each document. The drain on its aging laser printer took its toll, and the department sought to replace it at a cost of $1,200, but decided on a different approach instead.
Hammonton purchased LawSoft Inc.‘s NCIC Green software, which eliminates the need for continuous printing and instead publishes to a secure database that creates a pop up message on a dispatcher’s workstation for viewing.
The federal NCIC sets the parameters for the nation’s crime information system, says Nick DeStefano, head of the City of Hammonton IT department. “We are required to receive these messages and view them, but 90 percent of them are not actionable from our police department’s standpoint,” he says.
While the NCIC system is well designed, DeStefano says it creates volumes of paper waste that with today’s emphasis on saving trees and saving money simply doesn’t make sense. Consider this: Every time a missing person gets entered into NCIC, every agency gets copied on it. The average agency may receive 75 to 100 messages for that one entry. Multiply that by 500 notices and the number gets quite large. “And every jurisdiction that operates a 911 terminal has this problem,” says DeStefano.
NCIC Green eliminates this waste by simplifying the viewing of NCIC messages without printing, says Sgt. Ron Frost, founder of LawSoft and a member of the Bloomingdale (N.J.) Police Department. The software interprets and codes messages as they come in, then sends them to dispatcher workstations. Dispatchers receive an alert when the message arrives and can read it immediately if it’s an emergency pertaining directly to the jurisdiction, or a short time later when they have a free moment if it’s less urgent.
“Before it sat on a printer, where they might have missed it or forgot about it,” says Frost. “Now they can’t miss it or forget about it because it keeps popping up on their computer screen and toning until they look at it. It ensures these messages are read.”
The software, which carries a $2,700 price tag, also incorporates a search feature, which allows agencies to search by keyword, missing person, stolen vehicle, and so on. “You don’t have to know much about a particular message, except for a keyword, and the software can pull relevant messages for you,” Frost says.
In addition, departments can use agency identifiers, or ORIs, to categorize incoming messages, so that notifications from neighboring ORIs receive priority. “Our system allows a department to set priorities, not only on what the state says are priorities but on what each locality considers a priority,” says Frost. “It is just another way to ensure the information gets the utmost attention from dispatchers.”
The addition of LawSoft fits well into Hammonton’s efforts to become more green. “Every department has been asked to make green a viable alternative, and this was an easy fit,” says DeStefano. “While we did have to spend more than we would have to replace our aging printer, we’re going to break even within the year by saving on paper, toner, and time.”
Going paperless, recycling battery radios, adding energy efficient computer systems, and adding alternative fuel vehicles to police fleets can reduce pollution and save resources. And as the departments in this article have found, many times this choice leads to money savings at a time when departments really need it.
Ronnie Garrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Wisconsin. She can be contacted at [email protected].
