Units will be placed in department’s patrol cars

Tanner Health System has donated 10 retired laptops to the Haralson County Sheriff’s Office as the department continues updating its operations.

“It’s going to make our fleet mobile-friendly,” said Sheriff Stacy Williams. “It’s going to allow our deputies to do a lot more, faster, while they’re on patrol.”

Currently, deputies must rely on calls over the radio through the 911 operations center for a host of law enforcement needs, from running tags to checking warrants. It takes time for the dispatcher to look up the requested information and respond to the deputy in the field, cluttering the radio with additional traffic and creating the possibility of miscommunication.

With the computers, deputies will be able to access the Georgia Criminal Information Center (GCIC) remotely, looking up more detailed information and photos of potentially dangerous individuals before they make a traffic stop or otherwise engage in a dangerous situation. The computers will also allow deputies to check for warrants, run firearms registrations and more.

The 10 laptops, valued at about $1,000 each, were donated to the sheriff’s office Jan. 24.

“That’s about $10,000 that the county isn’t going to have to spend,” said Williams.

The laptops, previously used in clinical settings, were wiped by the health system’s Information Technology team and the hard drives were reformatted to ensure no patient information remained on the devices.

“We value our relationship with our law enforcement partners in the communities we serve,” said Loy Howard, president and CEO of Tanner. “This donation is going to help keep law enforcement officers — and the community they serve — safer.”