Officers in the Hastings Police Department have found a new way to become more efficient with the use of updated technology.
This year, the department has implemented the use of Apple iPads in each patrol vehicle.
Capt. Adam Story said the tablet computers allow officers quicker access to information and officers have embraced the new technology.
“They like them a lot,” Story said. “They are nice and simplistic.”
Dispatchers are slowly transferring to sending non-emergency calls through the tablet. Story said automated dispatching shortens radio traffic and frees up the radio for emergency calls.
It also gives the officers a text version of all the information that the dispatcher has gathered from a reporting individual. An officer can take the tablet to the scene to more easily recall what had been reported and insert new information directly into the device.
The tablets allow officers to look through the department’s records system to review previous or active cases.
To read more, see Tuesday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
