20080120 Westminster cops to add computers to vehicles By Ryan Marshall for the Carroll County Times

Westminster cops to add computers to vehicles by Ryan Marshall for the Carroll County Times

Westminster cops to add computers to vehicles

By Ryan Marshall, Times Staff Writer Sunday, January 20, 2008

Westminster police officers on patrol will soon have faster access to information now that the city police department was awarded a grant to outfit three of its vehicles with portable computers.

The computers were purchased with money from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, said Capt. Randy Barnes, a spokesman for the police department. The grant totaled $20,442.

The grant also included money for docking stations, so officers can set up their computers in their cars.

The computers will let police check driver’s licenses and vehicle information and see if suspects have outstanding warrants, Barnes said. Officers will also be able to create reports from their vehicles, allowing them to stay out on patrol longer, he said.

The computers will be connected to a network that will let Westminster officers communicate with police in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., who are logged onto the system at the time, Barnes said.

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