LAPD Unveils New Computer Network

Touting a new $16-million computer network as a vital tool to bring the Los Angeles Police Department into the information age, Mayor Richard Riordan and Chief Willie Williams visited a Northridge police station Monday to unveil the system.

Standing in the Devonshire Division’s roll call room beside a television screen displaying the LAPD’s new local network, Riordan noted that the computers will dramatically reduce the amount of time officers spend filling out repetitive forms.

“Officers were spending as much as 40% of their time on paperwork,” he said, adding that the computers will reduce that figure to approximately 10%. Riordan estimated that the system will save the city as much as $25 million per year.

“By saving that time,” Williams said, “the officers want to get back out there and do their primary job.”

The network is being funded by the Mayor’s Alliance for a Safer L.A., a group of private donors assembled by Riordan and Williams to computerize the city’s police force.

Officer Matt Sieber, who led a demonstration of the software now available to police, said the system will allow officers to file reports electronically, exchange computer mail with other divisions and access several legal databases. Between 60 and 75 terminals are located at each of the city’s 18 geographical divisions.

“We’re talking major, major change,” he said.

A computer enthusiast since high school, the 33-year-old Sieber said he is particularly excited about participating in the department’s transformation and to help some officers overcome their resistance to technology.

“They figure they don’t need it, but yes they do,” he said.

To combat glitches that have plagued the network’s implementation, the department is conducting a series of training sessions to introduce department personnel to the machines. To date, approximately 3,600 staff members have participated in the two-day classes.