The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s electronic dispatch system crashed during what is unavoidably one of the busiest evenings of the year for police enforcement, forcing them to handle situations as they had for many years prior.
Around 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, department officials were “made aware that several patrol stations were having difficulty logging on to their patrol vehicles’ mobile digital computers,” according to a department statement, which was when the problem was initially discovered.
They discovered that their Computer Aided Dispatch tool was unavailable because users were unable to log in “with the new year,” rendering it unusable.
“As a result, the Department is currently operating on self-dispatch while the issue is being addressed,” the press announcement stated. “Calls for service are still being responded to and are being manually tracked at the station level.”
In order to maintain department service during the hectic period, captains kept in touch with county and city officials.
According to deputies, radio communications and 911 lines continued to function normally in spite of the disruption.
Department officials stated in their release that there had been “significant challenges with outdated technology” for some time.
“Since taking office, the Sheriff has emphasized the urgent need to improve and upgrade our internal systems,” stated the press statement. “In mid-2023, the Department issued a formal request for proposal to acquire a new modernized, centralized CAD system that will greatly enhance our capabilities.”
As of Wednesday night, department officials are still trying to find both short-term and long-term answers to the technical problem.
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