iPad in Law Enforcement

[Daren77]

Hello everyone. I'm a police officer and am just wondering if there are any other officers out there that have found a good application of the iPad in their day to day LE duties.


Thanks,
Daren

 

[henry2]

there is about 10 applications that are comeing out for the law enforcement field in about three months to six month time frame check on itunes for the applications .

also look on the couple of the diff officer forums in the electronics software programs for law enforcement .. also try appshopper .com for some of the applications

plus if you have a mac computer try a program file maker on the mac computer to make diff files for street partol or other street work .. my friend who is on the Los Angles County Sheriff Dept ..he has worked diff units inside the Sheriff dept right now he working in Homicide ..he would make up diff files for work on the street side along with keeping his files on the desktop and downloads them to the iphone as need

one of the files is the basic file of street interviews on his personal iphone set up ..with the following areas on the application

-x-time and date of the call to go to homicide
-x-full name of the person along with date of birth
-x-some basic background on the person
-x-conditions at the time of call for homicide -x-night or day or evening
plus anything else he can put into the report to help with the case ..

you can do this for diff types of partol ..so you know where your problem child are in the area that you partol..

you can set up in the file like this

-x-time and date of the stop
-x-conditions of the stop
-x-area of the stop
-x-full name of the driver
-x-color photo of the person'
-x-home address
-x-car make and model of the person who was driveing
-x-names of the other people in the car
-x-arrest record of the person that is beening questioned ..basic info nothing that can hurt you if the phone is lost

plus anything else you can put onto the file..most of the partol cars computers have all this info in data base .but if working in a unmarked unit it should be helpfull if you setting there and a person of interest comes your way on the street ..

 

[pik0]

Speaking as an iOS developer, what kinds of apps would help our Boys in Blue?

Piko

 

[RoadPilot]

All the software we have/need is on the MDT (mobile data terminal, in the cars). Many departments would frown upon the use of personally-owned computing devices to collect and store information about incidents, subjects, victims, etc. (i.e., liablity issues if the device was lost, stolen, hacked, or info was purposely exposed).

 

[SweetPoison]

Many departments would frown upon the use of personally-owned computing devices to collect and store information about incidents, subjects, victims, etc. (i.e., liablity issues if the device was lost, stolen, hacked, or info was purposely exposed).

That makes total sense.

 

[joeinblu]

Here are a few apps I've used (some are iPhone apps):

For reference:
Law in a Flash books
CA Penal Code - you'll have to check if ones are avail for your state
CA Vehicle Code - you'll have to check if ones are avail for your state
PoliceOne - they have their own iPhone app now
Epocrates - used mostly on my iPhone for the pill identifier
CrimeReports

Document creation & database creation:
HanDBase - there are some free templates created by others in LE avail online
SoundNote - a great note taking app that records audio at the same time, which is synched with what you type or draw for easier recall later.
Evernote - great app for synching notes, photos, & audio
Informant - for calendar & todo's
2Do - just started using this for my todo's

Maps:
Built in maps app & Google Earth - great help when on scene and needing to set up perimeters etc.
Navigon or MotionX Drive for navigation

Translation apps:
Spanish for Police
iTranslate

These are just some off the top of my head that I use. Hope that helps.


Be safe,

-Joe

 

[henry2]

All the software we have/need is on the MDT (mobile data terminal, in the cars). Many departments would frown upon the use of personally-owned computing devices to collect and store information about incidents, subjects, victims, etc. (i.e., liablity issues if the device was lost, stolen, hacked, or info was purposely exposed).

not all partol vehicles have a MDT in them .unmarked units do not have them in the car.. partol or gang task forces has the MDT in them .most of the unmarked unit have a basic set of lights and radio and siren and that about it in them ..

the partol or gang task force or any type of task force that is working the street stand out because of to many Antennas on the car ..the MDT antennas give the vehicle away because of the number of Antennas on the partol or task force vehicle ..

next time walk through the parking lot of the local Police Dept or Sheriff Dept take a hard look at the marked partol vehicle and count the number of antennas on the car..if it unmarked that gives it a way as a police or sheriff car and the bad guys know it ..

so moveing through areas where there a high number of gangbangers or dope or other people of the night ..you drive a basic car that fits the area along with the dress in the area that your working at the time ..so that means no white guys in the detail in your in all black or hispanc area inless they are the drug buyer or john sad to say it but true ..

so a lot of the Officers or Sheriffs who work in special details do not have all the commo or MDT set up in there vehicle ..so some of them come up with ways to have some basic knowage of the person or people in the area that they work


plus this basic factin the world of the bad guys on the street . two middle age white guys getting out of a black walled in the following colors brown -black -white -red-color crown vic in suit and tie screams cops to the people of the area ..now in a more upscale area it means that the help has arrived and in the south side of town it means the POPO has arrived on scene and it time to put away some of the illegal things that you are doing at the time..

 

[henry2]

Here are a few apps I've used (some are iPhone apps):

For reference:
Law in a Flash books
CA Penal Code - you'll have to check if ones are avail for your state
CA Vehicle Code - you'll have to check if ones are avail for your state
PoliceOne - they have their own iPhone app now ..
Epocrates - used mostly on my iPhone for the pill identifier.
CrimeReports

Document creation & database creation:
HanDBase - there are some free templates created by others in LE avail online
SoundNote - a great note taking app that records audio at the same time, which is synched with what you type or draw for easier recall later.
Evernote - great app for synching notes, photos, & audio
Informant - for calendar & todo's
2Do - just started using this for my todo's

Maps:
Built in maps app & Google Earth - great help when on scene and needing to set up perimeters etc.
Navigon or MotionX Drive for navigation

Translation apps:
Spanish for Police
iTranslate

These are just some off the top of my head that I use. Hope that helps.


Be safe,

-Joe

most of the guys i know down in LA area use those applications on there phones ..plus a lot of the guys have four power cord system ..one for the car and one for the office and one for the personal car and one for house so there iphone is been able to charge it at all times.. ..

my friend thinks the iphone was one of the great tools that was ever developed product for law enforcment ..he calls his iphone the mini moblie MDT system that each officer or sheriff should be issused along with a service weapon ..for he can do a lot on the iphone but he also say that the desktop is nice for working ..

here is a one more on the pill indentifier application it a great application for checking pills found on scene . ..

new pill indenitfier by WebMD application for iphone ..

there is a couple of more i have to dig them out of the desktop hard-drive stowage device and post them ..

 

[Dan Diego]

Speaking as an iOS developer, what kinds of apps would help our Boys in Blue?

Piko

Donut Shop Locator

 

[RoadPilot]

... next time walk through the parking lot of the local Police Dept or Sheriff Dept take a hard look ...

Next time I "walk through" I should "take a hard look"? LOL. How about "next time I get in a cruiser to work a shift"? Apparently you missed the part of my post that included, "All the software *we* have/need is ..."

I didn't say other hardware wasn't used or needed. I said using personally owned hardware (e.g., an iPad not issued by the department) is largely not allowed by most departments for collection of personal information of subjects, victims, and incidents.

 

[iPadBiz]

I think the iPad would be a great tool for the units that can't have a MDT built in so that these can be stored in consoles etc. For example: undercover units.

As a short term workaround you could use a RDC to connect to a server and access conventional MDT applications.

Certainly there could be some surveillance apps that could be created around cameras and other recording devices.

 

[henry2]

[I didn't say other hardware wasn't used or needed. I said using personally owned hardware (e.g., an iPad not issued by the department) is largely not allowed by most departments for collection of personal information of subjects, victims, and incidents.

the given the fact the last time i got into a cruiser was aug of 1994 era for work and the whole set up inside the car has change alot since then..when i started in 1975 time frame it was still calling in to central radio and you asked for a R and I check on the person along with beening in diff spots in valley of the sun where you had dead radio zones where you could not get out on the radio due to beening in dead spots that was not covered by the dept antennas ..

there is a area in the double deuce that was known as the dead zone and it was a little creepy on sometimes of the year for you would get radio traffic as you where going into the spot and intill cleared the area.. the worst night of the year is old hallow eve for a few ghost storys have been told about driveing in the double deuce and not getting out on the radio along with some reason why the night before was night full of trouble in the deuce ..

some of the larger depts are engageing in the more smaller compact tablet system for officers to use in the field ...at the last law enforcement expo i went to ..to me i was like a kid turned lose in a candy store there where a whole section for law enforcement software applications for displayed for ind and depts to use on the iphone and smart phone set up ....

the one that i thought that was the best out all the software and devices was the one that was selling a smart tablet clipboard set up with the officer could swipe there driver lics on a credit card style slot on the side of the table and it recorded it the drivers lics do the NCIC check along with beening able to print out the ticket so all the officer had to do was walk over the other side of the front in the passanger seat and reach down and get the ticket for the person to sign ..

they call it a inprovement in officer safety for now the officer never has to take eyes off person dureing the whole traffic stop along with the same table the person could swipe there credit card and pay for the ticket on the spot ..it was a little out of most the dept price range it was neat to see ..

 

[RoadPilot]

I think the iPad would be a great tool for the units that can't have a MDT built in so that these can be stored in consoles etc. For example: undercover units.

Makes sense. As long as the department politicos are on board.

As a short term workaround you could use a RDC to connect to a server and access conventional MDT applications.

Standard, run of the mill RDC is way too insecure at this point.

Certainly there could be some surveillance apps that could be created around cameras and other recording devices.

The most popular CCTV/DVR systems are made by Pelco (they do most of the prisons, jails, etc.). There is not a native client for iOS, and streaming via RDP simply won't work (too much overhead). But I still bug Pelco about it on a regular basis!

 

[RoadPilot]

henry2: We *are* using new technology, henry2 (e.g., e-Tickets, wireless upload of data from MDT to servers @ the office, etc.). But, again, it's all department owned and approved hardware.

 

[henry2]

henry2: We *are* using new technology, henry2 (e.g., e-Tickets, wireless upload of data from MDT to servers @ the office, etc.). But, again, it's all department owned and approved hardware.

..

one of the guys i worked with a long time ago.. now says it become a Technology race between the police and bad guys and it who has the most money is going to win that race he says, along with a lot of the old fashion skills are beening lost in the process ..also he said the next generation of the bad guys are not technology dumb like we where in the old days ..