MARTINSVILLE (WSLS10) - The Martinsville Police Department is changing the way it patrols with the help of some new technology.The department just received 12 new car operating systems which help keep officers safe and patrol more effectively. It's an update officers said was long overdue.
"Say we had some street level drug dealing in this neighborhood or in this block. I could enter this in the computer and the people out there with scanners wouldn't know I was in the neighborhood," said Lt. Chad Roads with the Martinsville Police Department.
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It's called MDIS which stands for Mobile Data Information System. It allows private communication between the department and all officers, like Lt. Roads, out in the field.
"If we want to sign ourselves out of a call without it going over the radio, we can sign ourselves out of that call," said Roads. " We can enter the address, the nature of the call, and a clearance code."
With this new $50,000 system, officers can also check license plates, driver information and warrants on people as well as firearms and anything with a serial number. Roads said this upgrade was much needed. Before, officers would have to pull information from either dispatch or the Department of Motor Vehicles.
"We see it as a way that we can work smarter," said Capt. Robert Fincher. "By these easing up a lot of those tasks that were having to be done manually and now being done by a computer, frees up those things."
It also adds an extra security feature, Roads said. The system can map out where officers are located at all times.
"So, if I'm wondering where any of my officers are and they're not answering the radio, I can look at that screen the car last pinged on GPS," said Roads.
The Henry County Sheriff's Department also has this system and can share information with Martinsville police.
This isn't the only technology upgrade for the Martinsville Police Department. In the near future, it's looking to give officers small electronic computers to better take notes out in the field.