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Computers to be installed in sheriff's vehicles
[October 05, 2012]

Computers to be installed in sheriff's vehicles


KNOXVILLE, Oct 05, 2012 (Knoxville Journal-Express - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Marion County Sheriff's vehicles will have new computers installed next week as a primary step toward a paperless traffic incident reporting system. TraCS will also include a program that will allow personnel to see where law enforcement vehicles are located at a given time.



Deputies will be trained on the TraCS (Traffic and Criminal Software), a statewide law enforcement computer network. Troy Fisher, Chief Deputy of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, said two cars already have computers. When the remaining computers are installed, the department will begin to utilize the Mobile Accident Reporting System.

MidAmerican Energy donated 12 computers for this purpose. Fisher said the donation will save the sheriff's office a great deal of money.


The computers will allow sheriff's personnel to wirelessly submit traffic violation and accident datat to the sheriff's office and the state. As the process stands now, deputies hand write tickets and bring them in to other sheriff's department personnel, who enter everything into the computer system. Fisher believes going paperless will ultimately save time.

"It'll be a change at first," Fisher said.

Fisher was asked if the wireless system would be safe and reliable, as Marion County has many rural areas. He said the system has been in existence for over a decade and there have been no incidents, to his knowledge, of any hacking or corruption in the system. Firewalls are in place to protect the sensitive data that will be transmitted.

"It's all protected," Fisher said.

In regard to reception, the system uses Verizon, according to Fisher, and no one has had trouble receiving a wireless signal in Marion County.

The computer installation and training is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 10, and Thursday, Oct. 11.

___ (c)2012 The Knoxville Journal-Express (Knoxville, Iowa) Visit The Knoxville Journal-Express (Knoxville, Iowa) at www.journalexpress.net Distributed by MCT Information Services

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