SEVERAL POLICE DEPARTMENTS AROUND the country already use Wi-Fi in various applications, but the cop shop in Fresno, Calif., is building one of the most advanced wireless networks of its kind in the United States.
The city-owned-and-operated network is expected to support live video streaming; serve both police cars and other vehicles such as helicopters; offer broad city coverage; and consist of a mix of Wi-Fi and proprietary broadband wireless, which will deliver 1mbps of bandwidth to each officer.
The first phase of the $750,000 network, which was funded through a grant from the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) office of the U.S. Department of Justice, will blanket about 52 percent of the city. Deployment of the first phase of the network was just getting started in late April, Captain Patrick W. Rhames of the Fresno Police Department told Wireless Fidelity at the time, noting that site surveys had just begun.
The system is expected to result in two to three hours of additional productivity per officer per day due to time savings in processing reports and accessing information, says Patrick Leary, Alvarion Ltd.’s assistant vice president of marketing. “They can pull down mugshots curbside,” adds Leary.
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how cops are using wi-fi in other u.s. cities • The Los Angeles Police Department is using the Wi-Fi-enabled CalAmp Electronic Citation and Traffic Stop Data Collection solution for PDA-based ticketing. • New Orleans set up an 802.11b wireless mesh network and mounted connected IP-based surveillance cameras in high-crime neighborhoods to help convict offenders caught in the act.
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• In North Miami, Wi-Fi technology gives officers in-vehicle access to data-only applications such as computer-aided dispatch, local record systems for outstanding wants and warrants, as well as state and national criminal justice information systems.But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Rhames says not only will the new network give Fresno officers more bandwidth to access data and communicate with other vehicles via wireless devices — which is a feature of the force’s current, narrowband wireless solution — but it also will allow more bandwidth and the ability for officers to extend that capability beyond their cars.
As for video streaming, one planned application is to outfit a police helicopter with a camera to capture video of things like chemical spills, SWAT operations or even terrorist events that would require a large number of police units to be involved in a situation where they have a limited view of the situation, says Rhames. With the new wireless network, however, live video could be streamed instantly to all units for real-time updates.
Of course, video streaming also could be used for more “pragmatic” applications, such as identifying suspects remotely via video, Rhames adds.
IBM is acting as the systems integrator for the project, which will include IBM software, off-the-shelf Wi-Fi infrastructure and Alvarion’s BreezeAccess 900 (900MHz) system.
The Alvarion subscriber unit, which is placed in the trunk of each car, provides the vehicles with wireless connectivity in the metropolitan area and includes an Ethernet interface for the Wi-Fi equipment to plug into within the vehicle. The cost of the Alvarion equipment is about $2,000 per car. IBM will provide the handhelds and related software.
— paula bernier
| Links |
| Alvarion www.alvarion.com IBM Corp. www.ibm.com |
