Police enhance law enforcement precision

Later this year, Chapel Hill police will get the chance to take a cue from the annals of TV cop shows like “Magnum, P.I.” and “Dragnet,” as a wealth of technology is about to reach their fingertips.

Officers will have access to an electronic mapping system, which will allow them to search for a variety of information, said Chapel Hill police spokeswoman Jane Cousins, who is in charge of implementing the program. “Officers will be able to access maps, do searches and pull up orthophotos,” Cousins said.

The program will let police follow crime patterns in certain areas and help predict the likelihood of possible criminal activity.

The system will include building footprints, town maps and maps of the University. Officers will be able to follow the types of crimes that have occurred in a given area, Cousins said. Officers will have access to the system from the department’s internal network. Patrol cars equipped with laptops also will be able to use the system while on duty.

Funded in part by the town of Chapel Hill, the mapping program will be helpful to officers, Cousins said. “This will help them plan about patrolling and plan emergency responses,” she said.

Cousins said she expects the system to be available in about two months, after she finishes editing maps and compiling data.

“We’re just doing behind-the-scenes work right now,” she said.

Also this year, the police department changed the way it handles reports of stolen cell phones.

On Jan. 1, the department issued a new form for reporting lost cell phones, which officer John Wagner said will help keep emergency phone lines free.

“One of the initiatives behind the form was to cut down on the volume of calls to patrol officers,” Wagner said.

In 2003 the police received more than 250 calls about lost phones, he said.

Claimants can take the form to their service providers as proof of a claim.

“A lot of our calls were generated when people would go to their providers and the providers would tell them to call 911,” Wagner said.

The form is available on the police department Web site — http://townhall.townofchapelhill.org/police — and through cell phone providers.

Wagner, an officer with the community services unit, said police will collect the forms from providers once a month and file the information.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.