Walking the data beat, Police call for CDPD backup

Cellular digital packet data is being hauled in for questioning by police departments across the country.

The wireless data technology is proving itself as a valuable partner in law enforcement applications as many cellular network operators link their CDPD networks with software and data modems to meet the database access and messaging needs of cops nationwide.

Law enforcement and CDPD are a good match because of reliability, security and cost. Police cars equipped with a wireless modem and laptop allow officers to transmit and receive information and tap into municipal, state and federal databases. The alternatives are radio dispatch, which doesn't ensure secure transmission, and high-cost private networks.

"In the past, they have had to manage private networks from vendors with proprietary systems," said Chuck Napier, director of data market management at GTE Wireless. "We're offering them a technology they don't have to manage themselves and a service that gives them an open choice for software and devices." GTE Wireless has contracts with several police departments, including Nashville and Lakeland, Fla.

Bell Atlantic Nynex Mobile has also found the law accepting of CDPD. Last week, the carrier sealed a contract with the Philadelphia Police Department to provide its AirBridge CDPD service in 250 police cars.

"We have really been put through the paces there," said Richard Lynch, chief technology officer at BANM. "They're probably the most aggressive applications seekers of any of our law enforcement customers.

Lynch, who is also president of the industrywide CDPD Forum, attributes CDPD's acceptance on the police beat to the fact that the technology can be customized to meet the needs of individual municipalities and that it is Internet protocol-based, which means data services that may be required in the future are not likely to require system alterations. "Once you buy into CDPD, your evolution is pretty well assured," Lynch said.

AT&T Wireless Services is finding law enforcement to be one of its fastest-growing vertical markets for CDPD, thanks in part to a boost in federal funding, said Joe Gaskins, national public safety sales manager for the company's wireless data division.

For police officers, the transition is easy because they are accustomed to the user interface, he said.

"Wireless data is not new to this segment - they've been doing mobile computing for decades," Gaskins said. "They just haven't had the power that's now available."