Sheriff’s Deputies Give Portable Computers Field Test : Technology: Patrol officers try out Irvine software maker’s machines tailored to police needs. Officials say time saved writing reports could ‘put more cops on the street.’

An Irvine software company has found an unusual test market for one of its products.

Some Orange County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday began scribbling their reports on a portable computer specially designed for law enforcement needs by PenUltimate Inc. For the Sheriff’s Department, the goal of the 60-day trial program is to find a technology that can reduce the time required for deputies to write and file their reports.

Sheriff’s officials said theirs is the first Orange County law enforcement agency to use the computer. PenUltimate donated software, four mobile computers and a printer for the test in exchange for an evaluation by two dozen sheriff’s deputies who will use the equipment on a daily basis while patrolling Laguna Niguel.

Deputies will use a special pen on the screen of the 5-pound, $2,400 computer units. The computer screen shows electronic copies of some crime reports, which are filled out and then printed on paper once officers return to the station. A disk inside the portable computer stores all the information.

“We think it will save us a tremendous amount of time and keep us on the edge of leading technology,” said Lt. Joe Davis, who oversees police services in this city of about 50,000.

All Orange County deputies now take reports by hand when they are on patrol, Davis said. By using computers to eliminate some clerical functions, Davis said, the city hopes to “put more cops out on the street.”

If deputies approve of the computer and its program, sheriff’s authorities plan to expand its use by transferring the report information from the mobile computers to a central department computer so that it can be electronically sorted and filed. That would eliminate another layer of paperwork, Davis said.

PenUltimate is looking to make the first sale of its Computerized Officer Productivity System, said Paul E. Mondschein, president and chief executive officer.

“We’ve had inquiries from all over the U.S., and they are looking at the pilot program,” he said.

PenUltimate, incorporated two years ago, develops software for mobile computers, targeting law enforcement agencies and corporate sales officials.

Sheriff’s officials said the PenUltimate pilot program is part of their continuing strategy to incorporate advanced technology in their daily operations.

The Sheriff’s Department in 1986 became the first agency in California to use a specialized fingerprinting system called Cal-ID. In 1989, the department became the first on the West Coast to have a DNA laboratory, said Frank Fitzpatrick, the director of the forensic science division. And last year the department became the first in the state to install video cameras in its entire patrol fleet.

Sheriff’s officials said they like what PenUltimate has to offer but will wait to hear what deputies think before making a decision on whether to purchase the system.

“We’re not just going to run out and buy machines. There will be some tests to see if it saved time,” Davis said.

The San Jose Police Department had also tested a mobile computer program that uses a pen and can take reports. About 25 patrol officers out of 700 used donated Apple computer units for six months last year, Officer Manny Vasquez said.

“Some officers are pretty comfortable with it,” Vasquez said of the system. The department will decide this year whether to expand the PC program, he said.