Government Technology - October 2007 - (Page 38)

justice Let’s state local federal Roll Mobile command center takes missing-children investigations into the community. Steve Szalay, The MAC, very nearly executive director, a police station on wheels, California State is jam-packed with techSheriffs’ Association, . to quickly create posters, video and still photos, as well as track search efforts and disseminate information about the missing child to local businesses, the community and media. Once Pasco County Sheriff’s personnel get to a child abduction scene, the investigation can begin immediately and continue onsite. Everything detectives need to launch the investigation is housed in the MAC, which is important since alerting the public of a missing child is the first and most important step in the retrieval process. “Minutes saved at the front end of a child abduction investigation can save lives,” said Steve Szalay, executive director of the California State Sheriffs’ Association. “A mobile command center sounds compelling, especially if implemented on a regional basis.” Rapid Response A child’s abduction creates inherent delays before the child is first reported missing. The family panics and starts searching, then later calls the police. A deputy arrives on the scene, looks around, calls for another deputy or a supervisor. The officers begin a quick, ad hoc investigation, then travel back to the station to launch a full-blown investigative effort. In early 2003, the Pasco County Sheriff’s Department began experimenting with various ways to expedite that process. “We looked at the dynamics of a response, how we can fix these delays, and how we can effect a more rapid response,” said Sgt. Brett Landsberg who heads the Juvenile and Sex Offender Unit. “We looked at the investigatory angles and said, ‘OK, we’re on scene. We need fliers. We need to go make pictures. How do we get this flier out faster?’” The first approach consisted of putting mobile printers in boxes in the back seat of detectives’ cars, and using those printers at an abduction scene, Landsberg recalled. “At six or seven pages per minute, it really wasn’t doing the job,” he said. “And if you’ve ever tried to use a regular Hewlett-Packard printer in a car, it’s a problem.” Then the department hit on the idea of a mobile command center. A year and a half later, after much community fund raising, the MAC was born, and then deployed in April 2007. So far, the vehicle has been j j Synopsis: A fully equipped mobile abduction vehicle gives investigators a head start on investigations. Jurisdiction: Pasco County, Fla. Contact: BY J I M M c KAY | J U S T I C E E D I T O R OCT_07 he time it takes a kidnapper to snatch and murder a child is usually measured in hours rather than days, making it imperative for law enforcement and local communities to find a child promptly after he or she is reported missing. Statistics show that 91 percent of murdered child abductees are killed within 24 hours of T being taken, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s (FDLE) Child Abduction Response Team’s Web site. Fortyfour percent are killed within an hour. The Pasco County Sheriff’s Department in Florida had those numbers in mind when building the Missing and Abducted Child (MAC) Mobile Command Center. 38 http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - October 2007

Contents Point of View Big Picture The Last Mile GT Spectrum Letters How It Works Cerf on the Net Way Back Machine Separation Anxiety Let's Roll Rising to the Challenge Wednesday Afternoon Fever Parking Possibilities Products Signal: Noise

Government Technology - October 2007

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