Tech upgrades to boost sheriff’s deputies’ safety

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies charged with the safety of thousands of county residents will soon get a dose of safety themselves.

A $1 million overhaul of department squad cars, spread over the past four years, will upgrade the modems in squad cars countywide.

Once installed, dispatchers will be able to track the department’s more than 850 squad cars — and no longer have to rely on deputies to say where they are as they patrol.

The long-discussed upgrade could be a life-saving move, deputies say, allowing backup units to more easily reach colleagues in danger.

The GPS-like tracking system is one in a line of technology upgrades the sheriff’s department has launched.

Project leaders say the changes will not only protect design safety, but also improve department efficiency.

The second major upgrade under way, a project that is related to the system upgrade, will do away with thousands of paper reports.

READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Advertisement