Police Department
Safety Tips From the Long Branch Police Department
Long Branch Community Police - UEZ Police Unit
Due to the department's new computerization program, funded by a federal "Copsmore Grant," residents of Long Branch can see more police officers on the street this year. The size of the force hasn't been expanded; officers are no longer obliged to spend significant portions of their shifts in headquarters doing police reports. With recently installed laptop computers, officers now have the ability to draft reports in their patrol cars, and wirelessly transmit them to police headquarters. The demands for voluminous documentation in the police paperwork have not diminished. In fact, the amount of time an officer must dedicate to report writing has increased. With the new technology, Long Branch Police Officers can fulfill that obligation while remaining on patrol where they are most needed.
In addition to report writing functions, the mobile data terminals also allow patrol officers and detectives to conduct National Crime Information Center (N.C.I.C.) inquiries directly from the field, along with motor vehicle history and status checks. Another law enforcement advantage gained with the use of mobile computer terminals comes by way of "silent dispatch." Long Branch Police radio transmissions are unencrypted and, as such, can be monitored by anyone having access to a common scanner. The problems generated by unsecured police communications are fairly obvious. Up until now, however, the cost of addressing the issue, i.e. encrypting the police frequency, has been simply too great to take on. The silent dispatch option, though somewhat short of ideal, offers a substantial improvement on information intended for the "good guys" from being intercepted by the "bad guys". The anticipated result is better law enforcement and a safer city.