Location(s)
The San Mateo Police Department (SMPD) uses a wireless broadband network to aid them in their duties. Before the wireless network, the SMPD, like most law enforcement agencies of its size, had used a mobile data radio system. While this was useful for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and text-only incident information, this kind of system is slow (9.6 Kbps), much slower than dial-up. Access to a high speed network throughout the city saves police officers time, and trips back to headquarters, as they can now perform vital tasks such as report filing, database access, photo-lineup generation, and other investigative activities from Wi-Fi enabled PDAs and laptop computers while on the road. The SMPD has 35 patrol cars and more than 110 police officers.
Learn More:
Metro-Scale Wi-Fi for Public Safety. San Mateo Police Department. Tropos Networks Case Study. July 2007. www.tropos.com