Framingham State Police Awarded $140,000 for Technology

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security awarded a $141,919 grant to pay for a new
Computer-Aided Dispatch system, Dell laptop computers and other technology.

The new equipment is expected to decrease response times to service calls, streamline record keeping and better ensure safety on campus by improving the overall operation of the department.

The majority of the funding – about $109,000 – will go toward the dispatch system from InterAct Public Safety Systems. The department currently utilizes an outdated system.

“Our current system is from a company not based in Massachusetts and because of that it’s not interoperable with other agencies in the state,” Framingham State University Police Chief Brad Medeiros said in a press release. “This new system will drastically improve our ability to receive and share important information.”

The new dispatch will be linked to the Criminal Justice Information Service terminal as well as to the state and national Registry of Motor Vehicle networks. These linkages will enable information - including subject’s name and vehicle information – to be pulled from the networks and backfilled in the correct fields in the dispatch system. This should dramatically improve the department’s records management system.

About $20,000 of the grant will go toward new Dell Latitude Toughbook computers inside the department's four cruisers. The computers will allow officers to complete report writing while they are operating in the field. Currently, they must return to headquarters to provide a report. The technology will also enable officers to obtain information without contacting dispatch, cutting down on response times.

The University will use the ’s mobile server to operate the laptops and associated software applications.

Another $6,410 will go toward the purchase of a new dispatch console to make
accommodations for two dispatch stations.

The funding was awarded through the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.

Framingham State Police Officer Brendan Green will serve as the project director. Green collaborated on the development of the grant application with Jonathan Lee, director of Grants and Sponsored Programs, said the release.