The Baxter County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday new Mobile Data Computers (MDC) have been purchased for patrol division vehicle thanks to a grant awarded to the department by the Arkansas Highway Safety Office and a local match.
According to Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery, the new computers, along with associated ancillary equipment such as scanners, printers, and mounting racks were purchased with the grant and recently installed in the vehicles. The new technology will be used for issuing traffic citations, warnings, and preparing traffic accident reports. Additional features and upgrades will be operational soon.
Montgomery states the Sheriff’s Office has for participated in the Select Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) with the Arkansas Highway Safety Office for several years. Corporal Craig Kocka, who coordinates the program for the department, became aware of grant funds which could be sought for technology upgrades such as MDCs for the eCite and eCrash systems now in common use statewide. The Sheriff’s Office applied for grant funds to equip 19 vehicles with the hardware, along with 17 MDC laptop computers assigned to the patrol division deputies.
A requirement for the grant was a local match. The Baxter County Sheriff’s Foundation provided the matching funding fund, eliminating the need to seek funding from the Baxter County Government and County treasury.
The new MDCs will soon be interfaced with the Sheriff’s Office Records Management System (called iSOMS), including the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) component, and with the Arkansas Crime Information Center and National Crime Information Center databases. Montgomery states “it is essential for law enforcement agencies to have portable, reliable technology that enables more efficient information sharing and data storage, quick field-level access to offender data, and other information so deputies can make more accurate and informed decisions. Having all of this information accessible in real time will support the core public safety job functions of deputies, increase efficiency, enhance officer safety, and achieve greater collaboration between deputies and other agencies.”
Montgomery says he hopes the Sheriff’s Office can expand the number of MDC installations in more vehicles in the coming months and years.
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