 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||||
|
PRESS RELEASE |
|||||
MIDDLETOWN POLICE INTRODUCE NEW CRIME FIGHTING TOOLSJuly 8, 2009 The City of Middletown Police Department has just unveiled two new tools to augment its community policing efforts that they believe will help reduce crime and make the community safer. The department has put it's new Intranet on-line and has just finished installing a SMART Board at no cost to City of Middletown taxpayers. An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet technologies to securely share any part of an organization's information or operational systems with its employees. The Middletown Police Department created the first intranet in the departments history to help facilitate communication within the department and make information available to officers in the field. The Intranet contains links to local, state and federal databases, arrest and wanted person photo's, and the latest crime and arrest maps. It also contains search engines which enable officers to quickly search the departments records managements system with key words and all of the departments Orders and Procedures. The Intranet is available to all computers on the departments network including those in vehicles in the field. “The availability of all this information to officers in the field is cutting edge,” said Lt Paul Rickard. “Outside of a few large sized police departments this type of system is largely unheard of. It will enable supervisors to make assignments and officers to patrol based on crime analysis. It also gives officers information they otherwise wouldn't have at their fingertips. The public in the end is the winner as they will have a more effective and efficient police force which we believe will translate to lower crime.” The SMART Board, installed in the departments classroom, is another tool the Middletown Police will utilize to better prepare its police officers to improve public safety. The SMART Board communicates mission-critical information in real time. It currently displays crime maps, updated automatically, that help supervisors assign officers to neighborhoods with the greatest needs, photos of wanted persons, and crime and safety bulletins. It can be used to facilitate officer safety during the planning phases of high-risk warrants or other tactical incidents by displaying areal satellite photography and maps of the city. “By utilizing technology such as the SMART Board, we can achieve better results”, said Middletown Police Chief Matthew Byrne. “ SMART Boards are commonly used to facilitate improved education and motivation. We are a mission driven organization of professionals. As Chief, I have found that our police officers often embrace technology when it has been demonstrated to help them better serve the public.” The department has been able to make these crime fighting advances with with grants from Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Senator John Bonacic. The City of Middletown Police Department, which is the second largest police department in Orange County, started serving the residents of Middletown in 1888.
|
|||||