Tuesday, November 07, 2006

G.P.S. devices have been installed in over 130 department vehicles according to the SUN-TIMES . The vehicles that the devices were installed in are assigned to SOS. John Risley states that the decision to purchase the devices was made long before the SOS scandal. We always knew this was coming but the scandal probably sped up the process.


"Absolutely, this could be a disciplinary tool," Risley said. "Is that a reason why we're buying them? Absolutely not."
The primary reason for the devices is to ensure officers' safety when they are on patrol, Risley said.



Risley states that if an officer is lost or injured we could find them. Who is he kidding? This is purely for the tracking of cars. If this is really just about safety then how come the first cars to receive the devices were from SOS? Granted there will be an added benefit of safety but we think that aspect of it will occur on the rarest of occasions.
What will our roll be in all this? Will they put a program on our PDT’s so we can monitor their every movement or will that be the responsibility of the watch commander? Regardless, if your logs aren’t on the up and up you now have a motivator to rethink your approach to logging your cars.
According to the article the information from the G.P.S. devices will be a treasure trove for lawyers. No more I’m following a vehicle at 25mph and the monitor indicates 70. Every pursuit now has the additional information of duration and speed ready for review by the department. This along with the future additions of cameras and hard wired mikes in the cars will certinly limit our ability to use discretion when dealing with the average copper

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Big brother has been planning on watching for a long time now. The problem is, who is watching and where? I haven't seen any equipment so far at oec that would be related to it. Obiviously it's not the dispatchers that are going to be monitoring because we have heard not a peep about the tracking devices. If the city was that concerned with the safety of lost or missing officers they would mandate wearing a panic button like the firemen in New York, when activated shows a gps hit. When I "lose" an officer, he's not in the vehicle, he is running in the alley or gangway of the unknown block, calling a 10-1 on a secret squirel mission.
Our mapping system is so obsolete
it makes Atari's space invaders look current. Can't imagine trying to track a car moving at a high rate of speed. How about shooting a suction cup dart gun at the fleeing veh, with a gps chip in it? lol
Ok my beer is getting warm.
Peace. Squad

Anonymous said...

I hear that s po in SOS was the first "casualty" of the GPS monitoring....stated he was someplace he wasn't.....don't know where this led but....GPS is not a "Bad" thing...it is very helpful when you are fighting for your life and then you'll wish you had it....bottom line...the fun ride has been over.....long ago....this job has changed tremendously and has become more legitinized than ever...do what you're paid to do....and you'll have nothing to worry about....If this was a major corporation we were working for....making 60K / year....many would not be here...they's be fired!! be safe and do the right thing...God bless!

Anonymous said...

I spoke to a SOS Sergeant and he related to me that the GPS systems are causing problems with radio, PDT, and hand held transmissions. If the city installed these devices for "our safety" you would think that they would first make sure that they were compatible with existing technology. Which they, clearly, have not done the research. SOS officers can not use radios in their vehicles, while in their vehicle, or close to it, they hear a humming sound through their radios, about every thirty seconds. To deal with this problem the city has removed the PDTs from their vehicles, thus taking one of their most important tools away.

If the city really cared about our safety they would do the research necessary to ensure our safety prior to a knee jerk reaction to allegations which have not been proven in a court of law.

Please keep in mind that this is an open blog
that can and is read by people other than Chicago Police Officers.