It was 1:00 a.m. when Tiffany and her two year old daughter, Katey were awakened by the shuffling sounds of a strange man in their bedroom. They pretended to be asleep. When he left to survey the other rooms in the apartment, Tiffany called 911.

Within two minutes of receiving Tiffany's frantic call, a patrol unit for the Baton Rouge City Police Department arrived on the scene. Within minutes, a K-9 unit and backup patrols units were all deployed and ready for action. Tiffany and Katey escaped through the bathroom window. The astonished burglar was caught red-handed, charged, and later convicted... thanks in part to a mobile data communications system from ADSi.

This story is not unusual. There are nearly half a million residents in Baton Rouge and surrounding areas - a fast growing part of the deep south that is host to one of the nation's largest inland ports, two major universities, LSU and Southern, and one of the largest petro-chemical complexes in the world. How was a city the size of Baton Rouge able to meet the security demands of such unprecedented growth? According to Corporal Mike Murphy who oversees the mobile data system project, "We're working smarter."

In 1996, the Baton Rouge Police Department signed historic contracts with Application Data Systems, Inc., a highly respected computer software firm specializing in public safety systems and software. The goal was to allow officers to spend more time working in the community and less time preparing and processing paperwork.

"The typical officer used to spend about four hours a day writing reports. Our new system has cut that time down to about 90 minutes a day," says Murphy. "That means we have more officers on the streets which cuts down our response time and ultimately makes for a safer community," he adds.

"Officers file about 600 reports each day, so you can imagine the paperwork nightmare we were facing. Before we put our current system on-line, the average time to hand-search a record was about 40 minutes. We can now find that same information in 10 seconds. And while it often took two weeks before a police report was available to the public, we can now produce that report in 18 seconds," Clark explains.

ADSI officials had projected massive savings to the department at the time of the deal, but Murphy says actual results far exceeded everyone's expectations.

"Our initial estimates projected a savings in time to be equivalent to adding 60 new officers to the force. When we actually ran the figures, we found our savings to be the equivalent of hiring 78 new officers. We were the first in the country to go to an integrated, wireless mobile data system. But with results like this, I don't understand why more departments aren't following our lead."

One answer may be the perceived costs are too high. But, Murphy says East Baton Rouge Parish got a bargain.

"We priced several systems and, yes, there are some very expensive programs out there. But ADSi was the only company that had the courage and creativity to do what we wanted, and at a reasonable price," he says.

"It just makes no sense to duplicate efforts using three different systems. By working together, law enforcement and emergency services benefit as well as the taxpayers," says East Baton Rouge Mayor President Bobby Simpson. "Much of the success in Baton Rouge is due to political leadership and cooperation among departments. My predecessor Tom Ed McHugh had the vision and the courage to begin this process. Other cities have spent millions of dollars trying to build a better system and they are not even close. Our taxpayers work hard to provide us revenue for services. It's our job to provide the best services in the most efficient manner possible. We're doing that now with ADSi system, and I think the best is yet to come."

According to Lt. Clark, the foundation is in place for a digital imaging system where officers send or receive pictures of accident scenes. He says the future also will allow officers to add thumb print readers, transmit driver's license pictures and data, and more.

"It's a matter of safety for our officers. The more information they have, the better prepared they will be to handle any situation that arises," he says.

Currently, reports are written on the laptop computers and transmitted via RF from the patrol car directly to the records management system. In addition to the data processing capabilities, the mobile data system interfaces with the CAD system as well as the automotive vehicle location (AVL) system so that the operator will know the exact location of each vehicle on duty.

It's a system that benefits law enforcement by allowing officers to be safer and more productive when on duty. It benefits taxpayers by eliminating costly and burdensome paperwork and making government run at peaks of efficiency. And, perhaps most importantly, it allows people like Tiffany and Katey Gautreaux to sleep peacefully with the knowledge that the good guys are staying one step ahead of the bad guys.