HomeMy WebLinkAbout0107.093, , ,¥ ' .:.) .... ~ ,,:.
December 31, 1992
THE HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
Palo Alto, California
THE SUBJECT OF
THIS REPORT
rSA
COV~JC\L PRiORIW
This is an informational report and no Council action is required.
For the past eiqht months, the Regional Enforcement Detail (RED
Team) has been assisting the East Palo Alto Police Department in
attempts to reduce the amount of violent crime in that community.
The RED Team's efforts have been assisted through the qenerosity of
three private sector companies. These companies have provided, at
no cost# equipment that has aided in the aetection and apprehension
of suspects. This report briefly describes this assistance
provided and ackn~wledqes the public/private cooperative endeavor.
zo Sell.or_ Divi.ion of the Inteva.e Corporation, is a Pa~o Alto
company ~hich h~s pioneered the advancement of high performance
night vision devices and cClUponents. This com.pany has. provided two
night vision poc:xetscope devices used to enhance vision during
darltness. EO Sensors originally manufactured these device5 .for us.e
by the military in covert operations4 The company is currently
attempting to introduce the devices tor use by la .... enforcement
aqencies and realized a prime opportunity for field testinq by the
RED Team. These handheld devices are capable of allowing officers
to vie~ activities during nighttime hours on the darkest streets,
as though they were occurrin9 in broad daylight, ~hile at the same
time allowing the officers to remain undetected. They have been
very beneficial in ~onitori~q nighttime narcotic trafficking and
tracking 'Wanted subjects, while allowing officers to remain in
positions of safety.
The second company involved in this public/private cooperative
endeavor is western Data coa, a communicat.ions company based in
.Kirkland, Washington. Western Data Com sells and installs computer
systems that connect standard laptop computers or similar devices
in patrol Yehicles. that allow communication between other patrol
vehicles and ~ith other computer systems to occur.
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Page Two
One of the RED Team's vehicles has been equipped with a state of
the art prototype mobile data computer (MOeJ provided by Western
Data Com. This MOe has enabl~d team m~r6 to communicate with
1U.ny state and tederal agency data bases and to run want ana
warrant checks on people, vehicles and property directly from the
vehicle~ The use of this KDC has resulted in more expeditious and
Bore secure communications~ and does not recr~ire the assistance Qf
dispatchers.
The third company, GTB KoblleZllet, based in San Jose, provided two
cellular telephones and free air time for the RED Team's use for
tour months of their operations. The phones were very helpful in
communicating with drug infonnants and cOQrdinating the mul ti
jurisdictional work done with the FBI and the San Hate~ county Task
Force crime sweep th~t resulted in the arrest of 81 suspects in
late August. Staff estimates that the use of the phones and free
air time saved about $4,OO~.
CO:n.clU8ion
The equipment and assistance have been provided by these three
companies at no cost. The companies' only request has been to
evaluate the equipment's performance and versatility and to give
them feedback and informatjon on how their products have fared in
the law enforcement envi~onment. The willinqness on the part ot
these companies to work in a cooperative endeavo~ has enabled the
REO Team to be more eff9ctiv~.
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