The computers for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department dispatch system crashed on New Year's Eve, forcing deputies to handle all their calls by radio.
KNX News Jon Baird confirmed Thursday morning that the system is still down. He added that the 911 system, the email system, and the body-worn camera systems are working as normal.
Due to the crash, dispatch and deputies must retreat to pen and paper and two-way radios.
Dennis Zine, a former city council member and a LAPD reserve officer, told Baird that the computers are crucial.
“Every second counts when you're going on an emergency call,” he said. “Every second counts and it's for the officer's safety as well as the public’s.”
Retired Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith, spokesperson for the National Police Association, told Baird the computer crash could slow things down as deputies are unable to run license plates and checks on people without them. She added that dispatchers will also have to relay the information they wrote down to deputies, who will also have to write down information.
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“It's very possible that the deputies in the field will get some truncated information when they're heading to calls,” she said.
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger told Baird she’ll look into this, considering recent events.
“You know what happened in New Orleans and in Las Vegas is a wake-up call that we need to have all state of the art systems in place, especially in a location like Los Angeles County where we are home to many important venues,” she said.
Barger added that the sheriff does have control over his own budget, but if he wants to purchase a new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, he has to submit the contract to the supervisors for their approval.
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