PLACENTIA : Council to Weigh Mobile Data Terminals for Police Cars

The City Council will consider a plan tonight to spend $69,333 to install mobile data terminals in the city’s 15 police patrol cars.

Each terminal consists of a computer keyboard and small display screen mounted on a dashboard.

The system allows officers to communicate with each other car-to-car and with the Police Department’s dispatchers.

The terminals would allow officers to check for warrants and stolen car information before stopping a car, saving time and tipping the officer that a criminal may be at the wheel.

They also let dispatchers send officers to a call site without broadcasting the call on the radio, which can be intercepted by anyone monitoring the department’s calls on a police scanner radio.

According to a report by Police Chief Manuel Ortega, neighboring cities that have installed the MDTs report they are able to recover more stolen vehicles and arrest more wanted suspects by avoiding the verbal broadcast.

The terminals would also allow officers to write their reports in the field, saving time in the report process by eliminating the need for transcription of handwritten reports.

The city considered installing MDTs with a link to Brea’s system two years ago, but the plan would have cost $200,000, so it was scrapped.

Since then, the price has dropped.

Placentia would have to pay $1,000 up front plus $130 a month per terminal to the city of Brea for the link, plus buy the hardware at a cost of $34,983.

A $7,500 equipment maintenance contract is also part of the deal.