Raytheon to outfit LA sheriffs with new mobile computers

Raytheon Co. will build a mobile data computer system for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department under a contract worth $19.9 million.

For the first time, the vehicles in the largest sheriff’s department in the world will have access to applications such as the Sheriff's Data Network, mug shot downloads, fingerprint programs, geo-positioning systems, e-mail, and Internet access.

Under the terms of the contract, Raytheon will replace the existing mobile digital terminals with mobile data computers.

The new system will enhance the knowledge, support, services and safety of patrol deputies by migrating data communications from the current private network to a commercial wireless broadband service, Raytheon said in a statement today.

The Raytheon system also will significantly improve data rates from the old system, enabling the LASD to extend its desktop capabilities and applications to the vehicles.

“The solution provided by Raytheon will increase the knowledge of the deputy in the field, support our tradition of service to the public, and improve officer safety,” Capt. Scott Edson, who commands the Sheriff's Department Communications and Fleet Management Bureau, said in the announcement.

The LASD serves Los Angeles County, an area of more than 4,000 square miles with a population of more than 10 million people.

Raytheon Co., of Waltham, Mass., ranks No. 4 on Washington Technology’s 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.