Chief McCaskill, time to trade it in on a fleet of these?

How Raytheon Helped Create the Ultimate High-Tech Cop Car
By Jon Philips
Wednesday, January 11, 2012

LAS VEGAS — The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department wanted the best in-car technology available. They put out bids, and up popped Raytheon — which has a rich history working with the U.S. military and National Security Administration in areas ranging from defense technology to border security to cyber-security.

Raytheon did its homework, and integrated a suite of wireless information systems directly into a Panasonic Toughbook that the cops can deploy in the front cabins of their patrol cars. Besides providing an immediate portal to all the databases and legal resources cops need in the field, the rugged notebook provides real-time mapping of all patrol cars within a five mile radius, and links directly to a fingerprint scanner, which officers can use for warrant checks.

But perhaps the most innovative advancement is a geo-tagging feature. With a simple press of a console button, an officer can mark his or her location on the notebook’s mapping system in real-time. So, for example, when a fleeing suspect is tossing contraband out his car windows, the officer in pursuit can tap the button every time a bag of “dope” (that’s cop parlance) hits the ground. Now the sheriff knows exactly where to do a sweep for evidence.