Town okays addition of computer system to Norfolk PD car

NORFOLK — Crime and complaints in Norfolk are up, but the Police Department is set to get some 21st century assistance.

Town officials on Monday approved the installation of a computer system that will streamline department operations, coordinating patrol cars directly with state police in Albany.

The small device can be hooked up to the existing computers in the Norfolk patrol cars, equipping them with Internet access and allowing officers to upload traffic tickets or other violations directly to the state capitol, Police Officer in Charge Scott R. Bennett told the board.

Already used by state police and the deputies in the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, the program will allow town police to leave behind the cumbersome process of transferring files to a thumb drive before uploading them to computers at the Norfolk station and sending them in.

“This will be much easier because it will eliminate all that,” Mr. Bennett said.

The system will also allow computerized dispatch and allow officers to download vehicle data straight from the patrol car’s computer.

Town board members agreed to a trial approach with the system, renting one device for the time being at $40 per month.

And with no long-term commitment required, the town is able to end the deal at any time, council members said.

The upgrade comes at a time when the Norfolk Police Department is on pace to handle double the complaints it has in years past. The department handled roughly 2,000 complaints in 2011, up from about 1,000 five years ago, Mr. Bennett said.

“We’re working the same hours, but the public out there is demanding more and more of us,” he said.

The escalation is largely in the spring and summer months, Mr. Bennett said, and stems from increased crime and quality-of-life problems. The Norfolk Police Department has also been asked to shoulder more work as other law enforcement agencies have cut back, according to the officer in charge.

St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s deputies and state police tend to go more towards Waddington, Madrid and Winthrop where local police departments aren’t around to pick up the slack, he said.

“They know if we’re working they don’t stick around here,” he said.