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New System Better And Faster Than Ever The City of Kingston, Ontario is becoming a safer place, thanks to a communications system from Glentel / Time MCI. In the summer of 2004, Glentel / Time MCI designed and implemented a solution to equip Kingston’s 26 marked police cars with mobile data terminals.
One of the police force’s main goals was to implement a communications system that could bring more information to officers while they are on the road.
Scott Geoffrey, Director of Information Services at Kingston Police, explains the benefits of this system. “With faster, more complete information, officers can make better decisions in a shorter time frame – something that is clearly in the best interests of both the officer and the community when you’re dealing with public safety issues.”The new terminals give officers direct access to the Kingston Police internal record system, as well as the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC). The CPIC is where officers can find national information on vehicle drivers, wanted or missing persons, and stolen property. Prior to the Glentel / Time MCI solution, officers would have to radio into the police station with their information requests, and wait while someone else checked for the information. The new system essentially brings the police station out on the road, by extending the station’s LAN using radio frequency.
An IP LAN at the Kingston Police station is connected to a radio tower in Kingston’s north end. Radio signals are received in a radio device in each car, then translated back to computer IP to be pulled up on mobile laptop terminals in the police cars.
As Dan Murphy, Kingston’s Deputy Police Chief points out, integrating with the existing radio infrastructure brings the added benefit of redundancy. “Glentel / Time MCI’s solution has given us a contingency communication system between our station and our police car units. If the radio system were to fail, we can now use data terminals for communication and dispatch.”
This redundancy leaves Kingston Police prepared to handle emergency situations, something a cell phone based system couldn’t offer. “A cell phone frequency solution brings certain disadvantages that would not be appropriate for our uses,” says Murphy.
Charles Lawrence, Technical Sales Engineer at Glentel / Time MCI explains why, saying, “A cell phone network lays dormant when not in use. It’s only activated when needed, and it’s shared by all users on the carrier network. So if a major blackout or ice storm hit, the Kingston Police would be competing for service with every other cell phone user on the network.”
“Glentel / Time MCI clearly communicated how their proposed solution was the optimal choice for our requirements,” says Murphy. Glentel / Time MCI was awarded the contract following an open bid tendered by the Kingston Police.
Using factors such as the location and height of the existing radio tower, Glentel / Time MCI built a computer simulation of the proposed system in action. Based on product knowledge and internal testing of the proposed hardware solution, useful predictions on coverage area and response times for the new system were made. According to Murphy, Glentel / Time MCI has lived up to the high expectations put forth in their proposal. “The team at Glentel / Time MCI is professional, knowledgeable, and hands-on. They delivered what they promised, within the required timelines,” he said.
“By managing the entire project, we made sure everything happened according to plan,” says Lawrence. “We designed the system, ordered the hardware, hung antennas and ran cabling at the radio towers, trained users on the new equipment, managed the test phase, and completed the full ramp-up!” The entire implementation process was completed in 20 weeks.
Future applications the system can accommodate include GPS locators for tracking routes or locating vehicles if an officer gets into trouble; and digital mug shots that would make it much easier to identify repeat or dangerous offenders. The system could also allow officers to complete administrative work on their terminals, rather than having to go into the station. As Lawrence points out, “A police officer can be parked alongside a busy road or highway, deterring speeders with their presence while completing paper work. It’s an efficient use of their time.”
As Murphy acknowledges, the Glentel / Time MCI solution positions the Kingston Police favourably for the future. “We had no room to grow with the previous system. Now, we can assess the benefits of a whole range of added functionalities, and implement those that are appropriate for our needs,” he says.
When asked to sum up his experience with Glentel / Time MCI, Murphy offers praise. “They truly offer a one-stop solution. They meet their commitments, and they stand by their customers with excellent after-sales service. We are very pleased.”
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