The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department implemented a “temporary fix” Friday to get its computer dispatch system back online after it crashed on New Year’s Eve, officials said.
Problems with the 38-year-old computer-aided dispatch system, known as CAD, were first reported around 8 p.m. Tuesday, when officers from multiple departments reported being unable to log into their patrol cars’ computers, officials said. told the Times in a statement.
The glitch forced the department to rely on old-fashioned methods of managing calls, with dispatchers writing down call information by hand and relaying details to lawmakers over the radio. During the CAD accident, deputies were unable to run license plates or people’s backgrounds through the car’s computer.
The Sheriff’s Office says those issues have now been resolved with a temporary fix to a programming issue that occurred with the CAD system.
The incident sparked criticism of the department’s outdated computer system and calls for action to be taken to address the problem.
Former Sheriff Alex Villanueva weighed in online, citing a letter he wrote to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2022 in a post about X.
“It doesn’t matter if the RMS suffers a catastrophic and irrecoverable failure. [records management system] Or a CAD system, but the question is ‘when?'” he wrote in a 2022 letter. “This failure would pose a significant risk to Los Angeles County residents, but it can be avoided by immediately modernizing and replacing CAD and RMS systems.”
Department officials do not deny the urgent need for system upgrades and say Sheriff Robert Luna is working to resolve the issue.
“The department has long struggled with outdated technology, and since taking office, the sheriff has emphasized the importance of upgrading and strengthening internal systems,” the department said in a statement Friday. “In the first six months of his administration, the Sheriff addressed the need to replace outdated CAD, among other systems, and further developed a multi-year equipment replacement plan.”
The ministry will issue a request for proposals for a new CAD system in mid-2023 and is currently evaluating potential options, the statement said. The sheriff’s department says testing of the potential system will begin next week at some patrol stations.
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