Electronic Display Gives Police Latest Word on Crime

David Keith, senior crime analyst for the Oxnard Police Department, was standing in line at a bank reading the silent radio, an electronic message board, when inspiration struck.

Instead of running a continuous message announcing the newest money market accounts or the current interest rate, Keith envisioned the machine running a 24-hour display on current hot spots in local crime, new developments in a case or any information that would help a police officer.

About a month ago the Police Department bought a board from a Price Club, and now it’s up in the squad room.

“It was $199,” Keith said. “What a great buy.”

Keith suspects that the Oxnard station is the first in the country to use the device because it is the only department that has requested funds from a federal grant that covers such costs.

“But it’ll probably be catching on soon, because the Washington man who’s in charge of the grant likes the idea of an electronic message board,” Keith said. “He said he’ll be recommending it to all the grant sites.”

But the idea didn’t catch on so quickly with the Oxnard police. After the initial laughs, some officers volunteered a few suggestions as to what should be done with the device. “We got some interesting comments--blowing it up for example,” crime analyst Jane LeMond said.

“But I can tell they’re reading it now; they even catch the misspellings.”

LeMond’s department updates the continuous, scrolling message daily and she said it’s been a big help to officers.

“We give a 30-minute briefing at the beginning of each shift but sometimes officers have to miss it because they’re on call or at court or filling out a report,” she said. “Now they can read the board for quick, current information.”

This week, for example, the board is being used to alert officers to a pattern of car thefts occurring in the beach area between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. It also serves as a “welcome wagon,” informing officers which prisoners are back on the streets. Other messages announce the status of a past arrest. And others are congratulatory messages, thanking specific officers for a good job.

“Everyone likes to see their name in lights,” Keith said. “Sometimes we put it in flashing lights and then the officer gets teased by everyone for the entire day.”