Fayetteville cops awarded for computers in patrol cars

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

The Fayetteville Police Department has received an international award for its use of mobile technology in its patrol cars.

The International Association of Chiefs of Police awarded the department with its Leadership in Technology Award at its conference in Sacramento, Calif.

The award recognized the department’s program that installed computer terminals in all 31 patrol cars, giving officers wireless access to a national criminal database. The computers also allow officers to complete their reports in their vehicle and transmit them wirelessly to headquarters for approval.

Police Chief Johnny Roberts, in a memo to the Fayetteville City Council, said the computers reduced the amount of time for officers to complete reports. The computers also increased the quality of the reports, reducing the error rates and improving the investigative division’s clearance rate.

Officers can complete incident reports, motor vehicle accident reports, miscellaneous reports and field interview reports using their in-car computers, Roberts said.

Another Georgia law enforcement agency, the Lake Park Police Department, is using Fayetteville’s computer system to have access to the national criminal database and instant messaging, Roberts noted. Other agencies can opt to use the system upon request, Roberts added.