By Ryan Ozimek
After three months of negotiations, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department unveiled its high-tech, mobile navigation system last week, making it the first sheriff's department in the state to use such a system.
Saratoga will be one of the first communities in which patrol cars containing the new navigation systems will be deployed.
"Our dispatch times to Saratoga are very good," said Sheriff Chuck Gillingham, "but this will help us achieve even faster response times."
Taking advantage of a worldwide global positioning satellite, the $3,000 PathMaster navigation unit by Rockwell can identify the exact location of a patrol car equipped with the receiver anywhere in the Bay Area. A four-inch, color screen with seven buttons fits comfortably just to the right of the steering wheel, while the brains of the unit are secured in the trunk of the patrol car.
The technology behind the PathMaster has been used for a few years by rental-car companies and delivery services for quick and accurate navigation. The Sheriff's Department hopes to customize the system in order to help patrol cars reach their destinations faster.
The PathMaster navigation system uses an on-board computer to receive signals from the global-positioning satellites. Signals are then correlated with the computer's detailed map databases to provide audio and visual directions.
Once a destination is entered, easy-to-follow instructions are constantly produced for the fastest route to the determined destination. For example, a sheriff's deputy on patrol can simply enter in an address, and within seconds the computer will give step-by-step instructions on how to reach the destination.
If an officer makes a wrong turn or is forced to change direction, a new route map can quickly be brought onto the screen with the simple push of a button, providing updated directions.
Right now, the on-board computer is solely a receiver, not a transmitter, which means that officers will still have to use their radios to call in their location to headquarters. A new system may be installed to give headquarters the location of each patrol car automatically, but the current one will need to be evaluated before further improvements are made, sheriff's officials said.
"After about six months, we're going to evaluate the system's performance and decide whether we want to add it to more cars," said Sgt. James Arata, sergeant for the sheriff's department.
Deputy Grady Guinee said, "I'm looking forward to using this system. It's really going to help me keep track of exactly where I am at all times."
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, July 31, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved