InTucker Magazine

On the Beat with Lt. Berg – June 2022

Lt. J.W. Berg is Tucker’s liaison to the DeKalb County Police Department and can be contacted by email at jwberg@dekalbcountyga.gov or by phone at (678) 597-9040.

Growing up in the 1980s, I had to quickly learn to become comfortable with “modern” technology. After struggling through the COBOL and BASIC languages in high school computer lab, I would spend countless quarters attempting to beat Pac-Man and Defender at the local arcade. I grew up during a time of rapidly changing technology and science (and some great video games, of course).

Here at DKPD, the Department has also adapted and embraced technology. From our upgraded Computer Aided Dispatch system (see April’s On the Beat), to our newest Bluetooth and Wi-fi enabled patrol vehicles, we are fortunate that the citizens and leadership in Dekalb County and the City of Tucker have invested heavily to provide our officers with the modern tools they need to handle their calls.

Speaking of our patrol vehicles, gone are the days of the Chevrolet Crown Victoria or the Ford Impala. As you can see when you drive around Tucker, most of our officers have now been assigned a newer-model Chevrolet Tahoe. Larger and more fuel efficient, these SUVs allow the officers to carry more equipment and supplies and – more importantly – are safer in case of an accident. In addition, all our patrol vehicles are directly tied into our CAD system and GPS tracked for more efficient dispatching and re-routing if needed. The technology continues inside the vehicles with reliable Toshiba “Toughbook” laptop computers issued to every officer. Any computer-generated reports written by an officer are now sent electronically though the internet, ready to be reviewed by a supervisor almost immediately after they are written. Also integrated into our dispatch and vehicle tracking is our officer video recording system, more commonly known as “body cameras”.

Several years ago, after an extensive research and testing period, our department selected a local vendor (utility.com) to provide our officers with the latest state-of-art video cameras. These high-tech body cameras are currently housed in the front of our officers’ vests, inconspicuous yet ever ready. Per DKPD policy, our officers are required to record all interactions with the public when conducting official police duties. With the assistance of various Bluetooth and GPS “geofence” triggers, these newer body cameras will self-activate and start recording any event handled by an officer. On the chance that some type of crime occurs right in front of an officer – without it having been dispatched through our CAD system – our body cameras have internal triggers that will initiate a recording, such as whenever emergency “blue” lights are utilized on our vehicles.  More recently, all our officers were equipped with Bluetooth sensors attached to their weapon holsters. On the extremely rare occasion that their weapon is utilized, this sensor detects their weapon removal and begins a camera recording if not previously activated.

Our policies and procedures are clear: officers will have their cameras activated, either manually or automatically, and recording throughout the duration of an event. Fortunately, the technology in our body cameras is supportive of the dynamic nature of our work.

While it is important to note that our officers are required to record all interactions with the public, it is also important to remind our citizens that they too have the right to record any interactions with a member of our department while they are conducting their work in public view. Of course, there are a few limitations to this right, including the need to preserve crime scenes and maintaining the ability to investigate a crime without interference. Nevertheless, because of our advanced body camera system, it is almost a guarantee that our work will be video recorded and preserved for future use.

As a “Generation Xer”, perhaps my definition of technology is a bit outdated. Luckily, the DeKalb County Police Department has stayed in front of the rapidly evolving field of modern technology. From our upgraded laptop computers, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled patrol vehicles, to our advanced body camera systems, and our NASA-like Dispatch Center, rest assured we are keeping up with the times. Now, if we could only get a video game arcade somewhere in Tucker…