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By Greg Bartlett

One local law enforcement is looking to track the whereabouts of its officers. In the case of an emergency, knowing an officer’s precise location at every given moment may be a matter of life and death. Dispatchers, if able to locate police officers at any given time, can quickly calculate which officer can respond the fastest to a call for help. They can also help officers who are needing to narrow in on fleeing suspects or who have been abducted or put in some other life-threatening situation. Law enforcement administrators also want to be able to monitor their officers’ whereabouts in order to make sure all officers are where they should be-and none are shirking their duty. In order to accomplish all these goals, some local law enforcement administrators plan to have GPS tracking devices installed in each of their fleet vehicles.

The United States’ global positioning system (GPS) is a global navigational satellite system, meaning that a network of satellites communicate with a GPS receiver, located anywhere in the world, allowing the receiver’s precise navigational coordinates to be calculated and recorded (or tracked). The number of and types of uses for GPS tracking seem to be at a constant rate of increase. This technology that was developed in the 1940′s for the United States Air Force and was released to the public in the 1980′s seems to be common-place today. Professionals of any type of field are finding ways to use GPS to meet needs specific to their line of work. Families are also discovering the value of attaching a GPS receiver (or GPS tracking device) to pets and family member that might have a tendency to get lost.

Some law enforcement departments are already enjoying the benefits of GPS tracking on their vehicles – and are wanting it attached to their officers’ persons as well. By attaching GPS tracking devices to their officer’s vehicles, at the very least, this law enforcement department hopes to better protect its officers, secure suspected felons, and keep their officers better accountable – as they serve their local community. GPS tracking has proven to be an immeasurable help to the people of the twenty-first century.