By Will Pafford, Staff Writer

Rollingwood police have a new tool in their arsenal to fight crime in the Westbank.

The Rollingwood Police Department recently joined the Travis County Sheriff’s Office computer-aided dispatch, or CAD, system. 

The CAD system is the latest technology Rollingwood police have to catch criminals, ensure officer safety and even save the city money.

Laptop computers in patrol cars allow officers to communicate with surrounding agencies, locate addresses and look up information such as warrants and criminal history instantly through the CAD system. 

“It’s like having your own dispatcher sitting in the seat next to you,” Rollingwood Police Department Chief Dayne Pryor said. 

When someone calls 911, patrol officers can see the dispatcher typing the incident on their computers while the dispatcher is still on the phone with the caller. 

The computer also shows the locations of other patrol cars in the county on a map, allowing back-up police to find other officers more quickly. 

If officers aren’t sure where an address is, the computer can guide them with voice directions. 

“And it’s very, very accurate,” Pryor said.

This is especially helpful when police are assisting other agencies outside their normal jurisdiction. 

When police respond to calls or traffic stops, they can see if the person in question has warrants or a history of violence. 

“It gives us important information instantly,” Pryor said. “We always know ahead of time what we’re going into.” 

One Rollingwood officer recently stopped a vehicle and saw the owner had two warrants. The officer merely had to confirm the driver was the owner of the car before he arrested him.

“He knew ahead of time and was able to take those precautions,” Pryor said.

If police are searching for a suspect, they can immediately send out a description of the person or vehicle to every officer in the area without waiting for the dispatcher to distribute the information. 

Although all these features make officers safer and more effective in the field, the switch to the CAD system in Rollingwood began with financial issues. 

Pryor has been working on joining with the TCSO since the Travis County Commission approved an act that allows the TCSO to charge cities for dispatch services. 

The TCSO began charging cities based on the number of calls the dispatch received, and the fees for Rollingwood gradually increased every year. 

By joining the CAD system, however, Rollingwood pays a flat annual fee and the one-time cost for the equipment. 

“By doing this, we’re saving thousands of dollars in fees,” Pryor said. 

The TCSO was initially apprehensive about bringing outside agencies on the system, but Pryor negotiated a deal in which Rollingwood adopted all the TCSO policies, and the TCSO has the ultimate authority on the system. 

The deal took a little more than two years to complete. 

“It was just a matter of building up that trust,” Pryor said. 

Although Rollingwood officers were initially wary of the new technology, they soon learned how easy it is to operate, Pryor said. 

“Within two weeks they really don’t know how they ever worked without it,” he said.