Allamakee County Sheriff's Department utilizes GPS, mobile technologies

by Bob Beach

Digital and wireless communication technologies have changed the way many people communicate. For many people, cellular phones have become an essential accessory, connecting them any time, from almost anywhere, not just to friends and family, but to the world at large through the internet, email and their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Global positioning system (GPS) technology has changed the way many people find their way to new places, replacing cumbersome maps with turn-by-turn directions from a computerized navigator.
For law enforcement, these technologies are used to improve response times to emergencies, improve officer safety, reduce the time spent on paperwork, improve access to records... the list goes on and on.
The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department puts all of these technologies to work. The dispatch center utilizes GPS technology to find the locations from which emergency calls are placed and connects officers wirelessly to maps and information. Officers’ squad cars are equipped with dashboard cameras that record both audio and video, as well as laptop computers that give the officers wireless access to the computerized record system at the dispatch center. A mobile command center allows the dispatch center to be moved from the courthouse to any location, either in the event that the primary dispatch location is somehow disabled, or to focus on a particular case or event. The Department also uses survey-grade equipment called the Total Station, which can be used to create two- and three-dimesional models of crime and accident scenes that are accurate to within millimeters.
Deputy Sheriff Clark Mellick recently granted The Standard a tour and explanation of how these technologies are utilized by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department.

DISPATCH CENTER
Allamakee County’s Emergency Dispatch Center, located on the fourth floor of the Allamakee County Courthouse, is the hub of emergency services in the county, taking all calls for fire, ambulance and law enforcement. Mellick said that approximately 9,800 emergency calls were received at the dispatch center in 2011, which does not include the numerous routine and business-related calls dispatchers handle 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The digital phone system at the dispatch center is connected to a computerized record system. Emergency calls from both cell phones and land-lines are instantly plotted on a map, along with the GPS location, the closest address and the appropriate emergency services (such as fire department and ambulance) for that location. All of that information can be forwarded wirelessly to officers in the field, along with aerial photographs of the area to provide detailed information about how best to reach the location. The location of squad cars and some ambulances can also be tracked on the dispatchers’ map, which includes Allamakee as well as surrounding counties.
Mellick recalled a recent incident in which this information was utilized to pinpoint the location of an emergency call. A woman called on her cell phone from a sand bar on the Mississippi River, reporting that her boyfriend had threatened her and her child and was in the process of retrieving a gun from their boat. The woman did not know her exact location, but was hiding in the bushes somewhere along the river. Mellick said that the GPS location provided by the dispatch center allowed officers using hand-held GPS units to go directly to the woman’s location, where she was found unharmed, her boyfriend having passed out drunk. Finding such a location would have been impossible without today’s technology, Mellick noted. He added that not all cell phones have the capability to transmit GPS coordinates to the Sheriff’s Department and those that do may have that capability limited by the strength of the cell phone signal.
Mellick said that another benefit of the computer technology utilized by the department is the computerized record system, which saves time not only in generating records, but in retrieving the information later.
The time a call is received is logged automatically, and additional information, such as suspect and witness names, can be entered into pop-up menus by the dispatcher. All of that information becomes accessible to officers in their squad cars and can be searched by name or keyword for later retrieval. The information can also be used to track crime statistics, indicating where increased patrols may be needed.
The mapping system can also be used by dispatchers or by officers in their vehicles to track the spread of hazardous materials in the event of a chemical spill. Wind speed and direction are taken into account to identify areas that may need to be evacuated. The Code-Red emergency notification system can then be used to notify residents by telephone of the need to evacuate. Mellick said that all residents in a defined area can be notified with a single call from the Sheriff’s Department. The system also provides information about which calls were answered, unanswered, or answered by voice mail or an answering machine.
Code-Red can also be used in other situations, Mellick pointed out, such as cases of severe weather or in missing person cases.

SQUAD CARS
All of the Sheriff’s Department’s vehicles are equipped with cameras that record audio and video. Mellick said that the cameras make officers more accountable and provide a sort of “insurance policy” for the county as well as officers. He added that courts have come to expect audio and video evidence, and if it is not available, the attorneys will want to know why.
In addition to the two-way radios the cars are equipped with, laptop computers provide officers with the same access to maps and records available in the dispatch center. In addition, officers have access to their daily briefing, which may include BOLOs (be on the look out) and officer caution notices.
Using laptop computers, officers are able to track not only the movement of their own vehicle, but of other squad cars on patrol as well. GPS data is also available at the touch of a button and the cars are equipped with hand-held GPS devices for use outside of the vehicle.
Mellick recalled that the GPS information proved useful shortly after Mike Welch was injured in a hunting accident late last year outside Lansing. Mellick said that when he arrived at the intersection where Welch’s companions had transported him, the helicopter had not yet arrived. Mellick transmitted the GPS coordinates to the helicopter, which had been hovering 26 miles from the correct location. Using the coordinates provided by Mellick, the helicopter arrived within minutes.
Mellick said that all officers also carry cellular phones to which 911 calls can be forwarded. This allows officers to get information about the nature of the emergency they are responding to directly from the caller, rather than waiting to have the information relayed to them by the dispatcher.
Equipped with a radio, telephone and computer, Mellick said that his vehicle is capable of serving as a temporary dispatch center. During a drill several years ago, a disabling event at the dispatch center was simulated and dispatch services were temporarily moved to his vehicle, which worked perfectly. Later in the same drill, the dispatchers were moved to the mobile Emergency Management Command Center.

MOBILE COMMAND
Allamakee County’s Emergency Management Command Center is basically an air-conditioned horse trailer, but the capabilities it gives the Sheriff’s Department could prove to be invaluable in a variety of emergency situations. The Command Center is equipped with a laptop computer that runs the same software as the computers in the main dispatch centers, two radios and paging capability to fire, EMS and law enforcement. A large generator powers all of the equipment, which allows the Command Center to be set up anywhere.
Mellick said that the Command Center could be used in the event of a natural disaster, or to focus on a specific incident, such as drowning or missing person, freeing up the primary dispatch center to handle more routine calls.
During the drill mentioned earlier, mock incidents of a car buried by a landslide in Lansing and an anhydrous ammonia spill in Waukon were dispatched from the Command Center and everything worked as it should.
“The Command Center is something that is not used a lot,” Mellick said, “but when you do need it, it’s definitely a ‘must have.’”

TOTAL STATION
The Sheriff’s Department uses survey-grade equipment known as the “Total Station” to generate two- and three-dimensional diagrams of crime and accident scenes. A computer in itself, the Total Station sends a light pulse to a prism, measuring distances with accuracy to the millimeter. The memory card from the system can then be removed and its data used in conjunction with other software to generate diagrams for use in court.
Mellick explained that the Total Station allows officers to clear car accident scenes quickly while improving officer safety. The measurements can be taken quickly, which allows the vehicles involved to removed from the scene. Additionally, using the Total Station rather than a standard measuring tape allows measuring points to be marked on one side of the road at the time, allowing one lane of traffic to remain open during the accident investigation.
The Total Station has also proven to be a useful tool in crime scene investigations. Mellick recalled an incident in which gunshots had been fired into a garage in New Albin. Using the Total Station, Mellick was able to determine exactly where the shots had been fired from - a calculation that was later corroborated by an eyewitness.

“The Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department has come a long way under the leadership of Sheriff Tim Heiderscheit,” Mellick said. “All of these upgrades have been purchased using funds from grants or from within the Department’s budget. All in all, I’d say the residents of Allamakee County are certainly getting their money’s worth.”