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Schools extend range of deputies' in-car computers
Mar 17, 2009 (Herald-Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
An agreement between county government and Monroe County Community School Corp. means better range for new in-car computers used by sheriff's deputies.
The Monroe County commissioners have OK'd agreements with Unionville and Lakeview elementary schools to install communications equipment on towers at those schools, which means deputies using mobile data terminals inside their vehicles will be able to send and receive information in nearly all corners of the county, sheriff's chief deputy Mike Pershing said Monday.
Pershing said the department received a dozen of the in-car laptops last year and, this year, installed more so that about 30 sheriff's department vehicles are equipped with them. The computers allow deputies to connect to the National Crime Information Center and the Indiana Data and Communications System, allowing them to check driver's license numbers and vehicle registrations and perform online criminal history checks without tying up radio lines, he said.
The MDTs, as they're known in police lingo, are already in use, Pershing said. But antennas at the downtown jail and Stinesville Fire Department didn't provide enough reach for the entire county, he said. The deal with MCCSC means nearly full county coverage, he said.
"It's really a win-win situation," Pershing said, telling the commissioners on Monday, "With your approval, we'll be up and running as soon as possible."
Commissioners' president Patrick Stoffers said he was pleased with the agreement, adding, "When we can get units of government to work together on something that's mutually beneficial, that's a good thing."
The county has a five-year renewable easement for each communications tower, per the agreements. MCCSC extended services director Mike Scherer said the school corporation was no longer using the tower at Lakeview, adding, "I have no problems with it whatsoever for them to save some money and utilize something nobody's using."
The other tower at Unionville is still being used by the school corporation, but the agreement allows the sheriff's department to add its equipment there.
Pershing said grant funds and the county prosecutor's office helped fund the MDTs, which cost about $700 each.
To see more of the Herald-Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Herald-Times, Bloomington,
Ind. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email
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