The PDRC works seamlessly with other Toughbook mobile computers, providing a secure and ergonomic system for transferring mission-critical data in the field.  In addition, the PDRC also helps broaden the functionality of ultra-mobile devices to include activities like writing detailed reports.  Public safety users also have the ability to mount the PDRC independently from the connected Toughbook mobile computer for easy viewing and access.

Take a look at this recent post for more info about how one agency, the Tulsa Police Department, is utilizing PDRCs with rugged Toughbook U1 handhelds.   If you’re attending the APCO International Annual Conference in Houston next week, be sure to stop by the Panasonic booth (#923) to see the new PDRC as well.

With a new football season around the corner, the Parking Services Department for Texas Tech University (TTU) faced a serious problem. During the previous season, parking lots surrounding the 52,000-seat Jones AT&T Stadium had been regularly accessed by cars without proper passes, because duplicates were difficult to identify. Complaints from alumni unable to park even with legitimate passes were getting louder.

Much of TTU’s issues could be traced to the limitations of its enforcement officers’ handheld computers. They were difficult to operate, couldn’t be used in the rain, and were easily damaged when dropped. Battery life was short, requiring someone to constantly seek out and replace dead units throughout game days. Without wireless connectivity, there was also no way to track usage in real time.

As the second-largest contiguous university campus in the United States, TTU has 30,000 students and covers more than 1,800 acres. More than a quarter of Parking Services’ $4 million annual revenue is derived from citations, and the university needed reliable technology and rapid information-sharing to ensure it could document each infraction – especially during home football games.

Building a Solution with Versatile Ultra-Mobile PCs
After extensive testing, TTU decided to equip enforcers with the Panasonic Toughbook® U1, an extremely rugged ultra-portable computer with a 5.6” sunlight-viewable screen. With a six-foot drop rating and IP65-certified protection from dust and moisture, the U1 could be counted on to work in any condition.

“We were very impressed with the U1’s rugged capabilities, and the ability to run a full Windows Vista operating system enabled us to quickly develop a custom application for enforcers,” said Stephen Lambert, Manager of Information Systems for TTU Parking Services. “We utilized the U1’s built-in barcode scanner and touchscreen to create an easy-to-use program ensuring every car was accounted for and verified.”

Using the U1’s embedded mobile broadband capabilities and AT&T’s wireless network, TTU set its devices to automatically synch with their servers every five minutes. From a central control room, they were then able to monitor exactly how full each parking lot was as well as  battery life and network status for each U1 being used.

“We had a much more positive response from football fans parking on campus this season, thanks in no small part to the solution we rolled out with the Toughbook U1s,” said Eric Crouch, Managing Director of TTU Parking Services. “We have since deployed U1s to parking enforcers patrolling campus on a year-round basis, and are seeing valuable returns through more efficient and effective processes.”

View the TTU Parking Services U1 case study:

Additional mobile enforcement case studies for the Public Sector can be found here.

Cpl. Will Dalsing with Toughbook U1 and PDRC (Photo Credit: JAMES GIBBARD / Tulsa World)

The Tulsa Police Department recently began implementing Toughbook U1 rugged ultra-mobile computers running a full Windows operating system as a more portable and efficient option.  When paired with the Toughbook PDRC in their vehicles, Tulsa now has the ability to work effectively from any location.

Take a look at Tulsa Police Department’s story from a recent Tulsa World article discussing their jump to ultra-mobile solutions. We’re also very interested in hearing from first responders about your own deployment stories.

Given all of the attention on this issue, The New York Times decided to take a look at distracted driving in public safety vehicles. The story, while ultimately pointing to the value of technology, shared a few somewhat sensational anecdotes that suggest the risks of in-vehicle computing are potentially greater than the reward. Panasonic knows, based on the experience of thousands of our customers, that this is simply not the case.

Panasonic Toughbook computers safely mounted in vehicle docks have become essential for thousands of our law enforcement and public safety customers, enabling them to access and transmit critical data while in the field. While specific usage policies are the responsibility of our customers, Panasonic encourages safe driving habits and promotes the use of our devices and solutions in a responsible manner.

The article points out that “data does not exist about crashes caused by police officers or medics distracted by their devices,” and we are not aware of any incidents or accidents related to the use of our products in vehicles. However, we do know that vehicle-mounted Panasonic Toughbook computers have become essential for thousands of our law enforcement and public safety customers, enabling them to access and transmit critical data and to more safely navigate their jobs.  Having real-time data about stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants and criminal records, for example, helps officers approach situations with the appropriate level of caution.

Panasonic’s commitment to safety has always been an impetus for technology advancements in our mobile computing solutions. That is why we have developed screens that can be both ultra-bright for daylight situations and concealed at night; wireless connectivity that ensures optimal throughput for data availability and situational awareness; solutions that automate processes—such as e-citations and license plate recognition—to minimize the amount of time public safety personnel have to spend at the roadside; and hands-free triggers for digital video solutions.

As the Department of Transportation continues to evaluate the risks associated with in-cab technology, we hope that media will continue to responsibly educate the public about the true value vehicle-based computing can bring.

Clearly, any safety-related incident is unacceptable. Working with our customers and partners on ongoing training and technology enhancements, we believe the rewards will continue to outweigh the risks. What are your thoughts on this issue?

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Related Links

• Police Chief: Maryland’s Pursuit of the Paperless Patrol Car: Using Mobile Technology to Foster Interagency Collaboration and Improve Officer Safety
• Wall Street Journal: FDNY Goes Multimedia
• Indianapolis Star: Laptops in ambulances boost emergency care
• Toughbook.com: EMS Responders Use Mobile Technology for Efficient and Accurate Patient Care
• Toughbloggers: Introducing the Toughbook Arbitrator 360°

Police officers are welcoming the ability to “show our view and our side of what’s going on,” according to a San Jose officer testing out a new head-mounted video camera. High-resolution digital video offers clearer audio/visual evidence than the often grainy cell phone videos used to incriminate police officers.  The quality of evidence from digital in-car cameras, even set at the lowest resolution, compression and frame rate, are still better than most cell phones and VHS tapes.

A 2008 white paper from Larstan Business Reports (commissioned by Panasonic) explored digital in-car video for police officers and the enhanced security and broadened scope of information they provide.  Using Panasonic’s Arbitrator 360° system, police dispatchers can monitor each patrol car from headquarters, and in turn quickly spot when an officer is in need of support. Dispatchers can even zoom and increase the frames-per-second remotely to enhance video details.

Agencies using the Arbitrator 360° can activate up to 16 triggers to automatically start video recording, such as when the speedometer hits a certain speed, the sirens turn on, car doors open or impact is detected. This allows officers to focus all their attention outside the vehicle, knowing that evidence is being captured without their direct involvement.

To help eliminate room for interpretation in courtroom proceedings, police departments should seek to capture the clearest and most comprehensive picture of their activities.  By developing the most advanced digital video technology and secure evidence management, Panasonic strives to increase transparency and provide unambiguous evidence for the courtroom.

For example, the “office tools and suites” section of the site includes word processing and spreadsheet applications. The “surveys” section contains applications which offer employees the ability to gather feedback to improve services. The site even contains applications for collaboration, meetings and conferencing, designed to help users conduct meetings and presentations over the Web.

The shift toward Web-based applications for government workers is not limited to the federal government. The New York Times reported earlier this year on the growing trend of police departments to integrate customized social-networking platforms with their traditional crime-fighting tactics.

Government agencies are also attracted to the security benefits of cloud computing and Web-based applications. A recent article from Computerworld illustrated the CIA’s adoption of this approach, while specifying that classified data will be hosted within the agency’s firewalls rather than Apps.gov.

To ensure reliable access to Web services wherever someone’s work takes them, embedded mobile broadband modems are now a must-have feature for professionals’ laptops in both the public and private sector. Embedded modems provide better wireless signals than external cards, and also provide an added layer of reliability by avoiding loss, theft or damage.

It will be interesting to see how quickly the government workforce adapts to these changes, and which Internet applications become the most popular. We’ll be following it closely and continue enhancing our products to meet this growing need.

Live video streaming capabilities are built in to the Arbitrator 360° as an additional safety feature. Police dispatchers can now monitor what’s happening in each patrol car from headquarters.  If an officer is in trouble, such as an altercation during a traffic stop, the dispatcher can remotely zoom the camera for a better picture, or change the frames-per-second bit rate for more details.

The Lincoln (NE) Police Department has been testing the new Arbitrator 360°, and was pleased with the results.

“The Toughbook Arbitrator 360° has given us a true end-to-end solution for not just recording video, but storing, organizing and accessing video, as well,” said Sergeant Todd Beam, Lincoln Police Department. “In addition, we quickly realized the benefits of deploying multiple in-car cameras by disproving an internal affairs complaint using evidence captured on a rear-facing camera. From our perspective, a room full of DVDs is no better than a room full of VHS tapes, so the ability to manage and transfer all video evidence digitally is a huge bonus. Our patrol officers found the Arbitrator 360° software interface very easy to use, and were up and running with very minimal training.”

See below for a video demonstrating how police departments are using the Arbitrator 360°, and visit the Toughbook Web site for more information on the product.

Ten new Reserve Police Academy graduates

The Phoenix Police Reserve Division is now recognized as one of the best police reserve organizations in the country, with 135 men and women serving the community as volunteer full-authority police officers while also continuing their chosen careers. It is inspiring to think of the dedication it requires for a reserve officer to complete the same rigorous training as career officers, with no reward other than the knowledge that they’re helping protect the community. When the ten latest graduates of the Reserve Police Academy were introduced at the donation ceremony, they received a standing ovation.

The City of Phoenix has another reason to appreciate their service: last year its reserve officers donated more than 39,000 hours of their time, with a total value of more than $2.4 million. During the ceremony, Phoenix Public Safety Manager Jack Harris also noted that 2009 has seen a 25 percent reduction in property crime and 17 percent reduction in violent crime, thanks to the tireless efforts of all its law enforcement officers.

For nine years, Panasonic has been working closely with the Phoenix Police Department, and we were proud to honor the selfless contribution of their reserves by donating five Toughbook 30 computers to be mounted in their new Tahoe vehicles. Other major sponsors of the Foundation that made the donation possible include Walmart, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Qwest and the Phoenix Suns.

If you’re interested in learning more about the foundation or making a donation, please visit http://www.phxpdreservefoundation.org.

The current issue of Government Computer News features an in-depth review of the latest Toughbook® 30 model, by Lab Director John Breeden.  It provides an excellent summary of how the latest upgra

des, such as a brighter screen with anti-glare and anti-reflective coatings, support government users who require a notebook that will operate under any conditions.

The Toughbook 30’s concealment mode is a new feature that can be easily overlooked, but figured prominently in the review due to its significance for the police and military. GCN saw firsthand how easy it is for a user seeking to remain undetected to shut off all external lights while leaving the computer fully running. It’s a great example of how Panasonic engineers its computers to meet the specific needs of end users.