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Citizen Engagement, Government Security, Local Government, Technology

Citizen safety through police mobility

By Jianggan Li | 3 July 2007

New South Wales Police has introduced one of the largest deployments of mobile data platforms over an area using a single network.

Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) were first deployed at the New South Wales (NSW) Police’s highway patrol units between 2000 and 2004, based on the decision in 1999 to set up these units. The first generation terminals were non-ruggedised industrial PCs.

“They are basically at the end of their life in terms of reliability and effectiveness,” explains Jonathan, Jooste, Project Manager of MDT, NSW Police. “The upgrade of carrier network with decommissioning of the current CDMA network in early 2008 is also a driving force for us to look at replacing these units.”

A business case was approved to identify and procure up-to-date technologies for a new generation MDT. Ruggedised laptops with touchscreen and colour display were set up in the front of the vehicle, allowing officers to connect back into the police information system from ‘virtually anywhere within the state of New South Wales on a 27/7 basis’. Voice calls are also available for them to communicate with their counterparts as well as the helpdesk of the system.

Jooste believes the biggest challenge during the deployment was the expectation of ‘seamless performance’. Unlike a lot of other mobile data solutions whose users just need to get onto the network, synchronise and log off, our operations require to be online for as long as possible. “And to do that, we need to provide a very good wireless middleware platform,” notes Jooste.

To achieve this, MDTs employ various connectivity solutions. “We make a large use of public carrier which is fairly extensively deployed in Australia,” Jooste says. “So our users could actually start a decision on the GSM network and then track down from the broadband to local command or police station then connected to the wired network and resume session there, and vice versa..”

Officers going out of the MDT covered area can resume without restarting the system or re-authentication as soon as they re-enter the area. Also the signalling with the area of coverage works 100 per cent of the time with great consistency. “We don’t have hang-ups and unexplained system freezes,” Jooste says. “It works very well for us, with very little downtime.”

That software is deployed using web portal technology and the terminals are installed with the Windows XP platform. This ensures that the system is easy to use, maintain and update - modifications can be instantly deployed to all the end users through the web portal.

Although the system is easy to use, multiple levels of training are provided to patrol officers. This includes a 2.5 hour face-to-face training course through a group of super users, enforced by a 35 minute e-learning programme as a refresh course. “The whole idea of the design is to make it as easy as possible for officers to learn, to use the system,” comments Jooste. “The use of Windows GUI that everybody has seen before allows us to compress the training down to such a short time.”

The initial testing was conducted when the project commenced in April 2005 to determine how the system would work, and subsequent tests are carried out in line with cycles of ongoing improvement of the system.

An extension of the project was put in place to accommodate the security requirement for the APEC leader summit recently held in Australia. Additional vehicles were deployed to for highway patrol during the forum.

The most apparent effect of deployment is the significant increase in the number of vehicle checks. NSW police are now able to spot an increasing number of unlicensed vehicles and unlicensed drivers.

“There are reports indicating a high percentage of unlicensed vehicles and unlicensed drivers linked to more serious crime,” explains Jooste.

The ability to perform other tasks with the backend system such as sending/receiving emails allows officers to stay in the fields without going back to the station and conduct more vehicle checks.

“MDTs have given the police the confidence that they are using the cutting-edge mobile data technology solution,” Jooste comments. “We are duly happy with the product that we put in place and user experience we need.”

NSW Police is looking at further enhancing the platform to alleviate the dependency on a particular network and to increase police officers’ visibility and time spent in the field

At the stage, MDTs are not integrated with the system for vehicle deployment. “To do so in the future is part of the ultimate plan,” says Jooste.

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