WMLEC Communities Boost Arrest Rates While Improving Officer Safety With Cerulean Mobile Data Communications System and Bell Atlantic Mobile's Wireless Data Network

Business Wire, Oct 27, 1998

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 27, 1998--

Representative to join 27-community WMLEC at unveiling of PacketCluster system that links hundreds of officers in the field with

local, state and national law enforcement databases

Western Massachusetts Law Enforcement Council (WMLEC) police departments have sharply increased warrant arrests and vehicle violation citations by arming hundreds of patrol officers with technology. These 27 agencies are deploying Cerulean Technology's PacketCluster(R) Patrol(tm) software, a wireless mobile communication and information solution that gives them instant access to critical law enforcement information from the field. The software operates over Bell Atlantic Mobi le's AirBridge(r) wireless data network to connect the patrol car laptops to the department's landline network.

WMLEC representatives will hold a public presentation and demonstration of the PacketCluster Patrol system on Oct. 27, 1998 at 10 a.m. in front of the Springfield Police Department. State Rep. Paul Caron, the WMLEC committee consisting of Chairman Chief Richard Marchese, Secretary and Treasurer Chief Phil Adams, Vice Chairman Chief Russell Siekiewicz, Springfield Police Department consultant Officer Carl Prairie and other public officials who helped secure funding for the system are expected to attend.

Using Cerulean and Bell Atlantic services, WMLEC member agency officers and dispatchers can access crime-fighting information from the field and communicate with each other through secure, real-time messages to assist in pursuits and investigations, and improve general interagency coordination. PacketCluster Patrol is a standards-based, open architecture solution that uses Bell Atlantic Mobile wireless technology to provide WMLEC officers in the field on-the-spot information about potentially dangerous suspects.

WMLEC has awarded Cerulean a $2 million contract, administered and managed by the town of Hampden and its selectmen, to link all of its member agencies through a single PacketCluster Patrol communications system. WMLEC member agencies range in size from a few officers to several hundred, and cover approximately 608 square miles from the Massachusetts Berkshires to Connecticut borders.

"There's a whole network of public safety and criminal databases that our police officers can access using Cerulean's wireless mobile and Bell Atlantic Mobile's data network technology. Armed with timely, accurate information, police officers can solve crimes faster and use their time more efficiently," said WMLEC Chairman and Longmeadow Police Chief Richard A. Marchese. "Ensuring officer safety is a top priority with all police departments. PacketCluster Patrol provides pertinent, necessary information at the officer's fingertips in the safety of the police vehicle so that our officers aren't walking into potentially dangerous situations."

The Springfield Police Department has already experienced a dramatic increase in the number of traffic citations issued, service of arrest warrants, and fines for uninsured and unregistered vehicles using the PacketCluster Patrol system.

"With PacketCluster Patrol our officers can run at least twice as many queries as they could using our voice dispatch system. Already, we've seen a dramatic increase in the number of warrants for arrest and illegal vehicles being cleared off of the books, said Springfield Communications Manager Carl Prairie. "Now, using PacketCluster Patrol, officers can get back a wealth of potentially life-saving information in a matter of seconds while in the field."

Before this system was installed, WMLEC member agency patrol officers had to wait up to 20 minutes while dispatchers gathered background information from a headquarters-based terminal connected to the state criminal justice information system (CJIS). This on-air downtime reduced the number of arrests officers could make because it limited them to fewer queries. Not having the information available at the scene increases officer and mobile personnel risk and sacrifices vital emergency response time.

About WMLEC

WMLEC is a consortium of police departments from 27 Massachusetts communities in Hampden and Hampshire Counties. The WMLEC communities include: Agawam, Amherst, Belchertown, Chicopee, East Longmeadow, Easthampton, Granby, Granville, Hadley, Hampden, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Ludlow, Monson, Northampton, Palmer, Pelham, South Hadley, Southampton, Southwick, Springfield, Ware, Warren, West Springfield, Westfield, Westhampton and Wilbraham.

About Bell Atlantic Mobile

Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company owns and operates the most extensive network in the east, covering 116,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless retail outlets offering a full range of wireless personal communications services, including voice, data and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell Atlantic Mobile has more than five million customers and about 7,000 employees in the Northeast, MidAtla ntic, Southeast, and, through a separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. For more information about the company, visit Bell Atlantic Mobile's home page at www.bam.com.