Case Studies
Boardman Township Police
The Problem:
Boardman Township Police located in Youngstown, Ohio was experiencing a great deal of difficulty
communicating with their officers when they went out into the field and it was very cumbersome to
dispatch officers to an incident scene often times causing them to arrive later than they should. As a
result, service to the community was not satisfactory....
The Solution
Boardman Township implemented a combination of Getac B300 fully rugged and S410 semi rugged
laptops in their cruisers each outfitted with an AT&T First Net modem that enabled them to
communicate on a frequency band dedicated to public safety.
The Benefits
. Since implementing these laptops, the department has recognized many benefits including:
1) Office Productivity: Officers use their laptops inside their cruisers to check departmental email,
policies & procedures, and archival records from legacy records data.
2) Training: Officers use their laptops to view training videos and documentation.
3) CAD & RMS: Officers use their laptops to access our computer aided dispatch information and
records information.
They use the laptops to take reports, write citations, and run license queries.
Said Captain Albert Kakascik, “These in car laptops have improved our ability to service our community
and as a result, we have a better relationship with them. With the extended bumper to bumper
warranty, these rugged laptops are able to last longer. The department spends less money overall
on replacing and repairing them and with the premier warranty that comes standard with the
laptop, repairs other than theft and negligence are free. We have used Getac laptops and the
extended warranty for many years and believe that the investment has been very worthwhile”.
Captain Albert Kakascik
Boardman Township Police
Youngstown, Ohio
Cabell County EMS
The Problem:
Cabell County EMS located in Huntington, West Virginia was using older convertible style laptops and
was having numerous problems with them. According to IT Director, Brenda Webb, “These laptops
were very old and slow. The batteries were not able to hold a charge for very long anymore and we
were constantly sending them in for repair. We had to replace them because it was negatively
impacting our paramedics ability to do their jobs”....
The Solution
After evaluating several alternative devices, Cabell County EMS chose the Getac V110 fully rugged
convertible laptop. Said Webb. “We needed a keyboard and we really liked the convertible laptop style
so the V110 was a natural selection. The fact that the V110 has bigger screen, is lighter and has a better
warranty, only makes it that much better than what we had before”.
The Benefits
The speed of the V110s is a big improvement compared to what was used before. The connectivity is
much better and rarely drops and the dual batteries make the laptop be able to function all day long.
According to Webb, “We own approximately 40 V110s purchased at different times over the past few
years and we plan to purchase more as they have proven to be a very valuable tool for our agency”.
Brenda Webb, IT Director
Cabell County EMS
Huntington, West Virginia
Riverside Police
The Problem:
Riverside Police located in Dayton, Ohio decided they needed to replace the computers they were using
in their cruisers because they were becoming very slow and unreliable and the connection capabilities
were also very slow and prone to drops. According to Major Matt Sturgeon, “It got to the point where
our officers were simply not using the in-car computers anymore”. Instead, each time an officer needed
to run a check on an individual’s driver’s license or perform a criminal history check, they would have to
communicate back to their station and have someone else do it for them which took a lot of time....
The Solution
To resolve these problems Riverside Police purchased and implemented the Getac A140 fully rugged
tablet mounted in their cruisers. Said Sturgeon, “The 14 inch screen that the A140 comes with plus the
bumper to bumper warranty made the purchasing decision very easy. There is simply nothing on the
market like it”.
The Benefits
Since implementing the A140s, police officers of Riverside Police are now able to do their own driver’s
license checks and criminal history reviews saving precious time. According to Sturgeon, “The Getac
A140 is much faster than what we used before. They have a much better ability to connect to the cell
phone/wireless service in the area and the ruggedization of the A140 has greatly helped as they are able
to withstand some tough conditions such as temperature extremes, vibration and dust”.
Major Matt Sturgeon
Riverside Police
Dayton, Ohio
Springfield Township Fire and EMS
The Problem:
Springfield Township Fire and EMS located in Cincinnati, Ohio was experiencing numerous problems
with their aging fleet of laptops. According to LT Jonathan Buesing, “The laptops we were using were
going down so often they simply were not useable anymore.” The result was EMS technicians and
paramedics were forced to do much of their work manually including navigating to incident scenes,
recording patient data and state required reporting. ...
The Solution
After evaluating several alternative devices, Springfield Township chose the Getac K120 fully rugged
tablet mounted in their ambulances along with the Cradlepoint router which allows multiple devices to
connect to the internet using a single connection.
The Benefits
Since implementing the K120s, Springfield Township’s EMS technicians and paramedics are now able to
perform their navigation, data recording and reporting functions in an automated fashion, thus
increasing accuracy and speed. The department is now able to tend to patients quicker and transport
additional patients to hospitals in a typical day. Said Buesing, “I could have purchased a cheaper tablet
but when you add the extended warranty in, the price difference wasn’t that great. We now have a
more robust tablet that we can depend on that is designed for the kind of work we do”.
LT Jonathan Buesing
Springfield Township Fire and EMS
Cincinnati, Ohio