Recently, we've been showing you how the police department has been shifting slowly from handheld police radios to cellular phones and WhatsApp groups as the platform for their police communication system.
In both Eastern Division North and the Rural Eastern Division, tens of thousands of dollars have been invested to get rugged cellular phones for officers so that they can have real - time, image based, communication with their fellow field officers, and the command headquarters.
But, even though just last year November - the department got 67 new cell phones along with a costly training and program design, it seems that the department will be shifting back to police radios for communication purposes. We say that after we saw BWSL donate 20 thousand dollars' worth of handheld radios today.
Today we asked the Deputy Commissioner in charge of operations about the reasoning behind that, and what will happen to those 10's of thousands of dollars invested in the cellular phone communication infrastructure.:
ACP Chester Williams, Commander - Operations
"For sure the phone is important but I do understand the concern of the public. Often times the police officer use the phone for the wrong purpose. Using it for the wrong purpose distracts them from focusing on what they're supposed to be focusing on, citizen security. You cannot ensure the safety of the citizenry if you're on the phone 24/7. The commissioner have a cell phone policy whereby officers will be required to use the cell phone on a limited basis whilst at work. It will not be anything new nor a breach of their rights. There are companies where you go to work and drop your phone in a box, and when you leave work you pick it up. We will try to understand that officers do have emergencies and need to use their phones. We are getting additional radios. Mr. Gillet had just informed me that he received a donation from WASA/BWS for 16 handheld radios. Those radios will be used to compliment what we already have, for us to be able to expand the use of the police communication network."
Reporter
"The issue is that some residents feel that the phone is a distraction to officers to their duties."
ACP Chester Williams
"That is some of the concerns we are getting right now. On Tibruce Street they are complaining that they don't feel safe because often times the officers are distracted and not paying attention. They say that having the officer around and are on their phones, it doesn't provide a sense of safety as the gunman will come around and they will not see until the gunman would have already done what he needs to do."
Reporter
"What happens with the investment that was made? Several hundred thousand dollars were invested to create this cell phone infrastructure for communication purposes in the eastern division."
ACP Chester Williams
"That is what I am saying, that is the use for limited purposes. In the sense that we are not saying the cell phone will be taken away completely, but what we can do is to see how we can limit the use of the cell phone for a particular reason and there are persons out there who know how to handle these gadgets. Just like how you can take a computer and put firewall. To reduce the amount of apps on the phone that the officers will only be able to use certain apps. That is what we're looking at because I do believe that the cell phones can be used for some purpose."
The police command will be monitoring the situation, and if this change still does not bring about the desired result of having officers always alert and ready, then a complete cellular phone ban will be put in place for officers while they are on duty.
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