New communications called key to anti-terror

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

Some new high-tech wireless video and audio equipment may be the key to improving communication between emergency agencies such as fire and police in case of a disaster or terrorist attack, officials said Wednesday.

The only problem is how to pay for it.

The Nevada Highway Patrol and the Metropolitan Police Department are testing a system that will allow dispatchers or officers in other vehicles to see and hear exactly what is going at an emergency situation or crime scene, officials said Wednesday.

The equipment, patented by Technology Alternatives of Illinois, streams sound and audio video from a color camera mounted on the dashboard of a patrol car back to the station, mobile computers in other patrol cars or even designated lap-tops and camera phones over secure, encrypted lines, Technology Alternative Vice President Barbara Roberts said.

This technology can be integrated to connect first-response teams from different emergency agencies with each other and allow all of them to see exactly what is going on at the scene through wireless pocket computers, Roberts said.

The technology also includes a document managing system that will make officers safer by allowing them to scan a driver's license for prior arrests or convictions before heading back to the car. It also could bolster cases by recording incidents with audio and sound, and save paperwork by automatically scanning information into reports.

Nevada Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Harney was impressed by the new technology as he watched officers using the equipment in training for felony traffic stops in a parking lot across from the San Remo hotel-casino. The computerized camera communication system was unveiled as part of a training conference in controlled force and tactical maneuvers for the United States National Standards Training Association for police officers from all over the nation.

"This is totally the way law enforcement is going to be operating in the future," Harney said.

That is, of course, if the various agencies can find the money to purchase the equipment. It costs anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000 to fully outfit one vehicle, and each pocket unit runs $1,000 to $2,000, Roberts said. To reach its full capacity, wireless Internet connections will need to be installed at various points around the city, particularly from high rise hotels. That cost has not been calculated, but it would be signficant, authorities said.

Harney said the Nevada Highway Patrol is exploring whether grant money from the Homeland Security Office could be used to outfit all of their cars. Technology Alternatives also has pitched the technology to the Clark County School District Police and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, but have not yet talked with other county agencies.

School Police Chief Elliott Phelps said he wants to use the technology to connect school cameras to his dispatch center and to other law enforcement officers who would come in to a school in the event of an emergency.

"The type of system that they offer would be incredibly useful to school sites to increase their security," Phelps said. "The biggest issue we have is that if incidences occur at schools we need to see what's going on and get that information to police and to our own officers.

"Money, however, is tight," he added, "and the school district's primary responsibility is to educate."

Cook County, Ill., home to Chicago and the only other location to have tested the system, used it to monitor the U.S. Open golf tournament at Olympia Fields last June, said Penny Mateck, Cook County Sheriff's spokeswoman. The sheriff's department is unable to purchase the equipment because of a lack of money, Mateck said.

The camera communication system can aid in both day-to-day law enforcement and prepares officers for issues of homeland security threats, Roberts said.

From a command center, either out at the scene or at the station, officers can allow members of different agencies to communicate with each other on their own radio systems -- systems that are often incompatible -- by matching the tones from each frequency.

"9-11 really highlighted the inoperability problem," Roberts said.

"First responders from different agencies often can't talk to each other because they have different radios."

The technology can also be integrated with cameras in hotels, banks or stores so that an alarm activated in an emergency can then stream video directly to police, fire or rescue officers so they see what's going on before they arrive on the scene.

"It lets you know ahead of time what entrances to go into, or what you are entering into," Roberts said.