Hi Sun Readers. This week we received a question about why the public will sometimes see our cars running, even if nobody is in them. This is a really good question and I’m sure many of you have wondered about this.
Our patrol vehicles are equipped with an “idle switch.” When this switch is activated, it allows us to remove the key from the ignition, lock the doors, all while leaving the engine running. So why do we do this? It all comes down to battery power. Our patrol cars are our offices. Inside each vehicle there are several pieces of technology that need to remain on during the shift. We have laptops in the car that do several things. They allow us to see the dispatch screen including pending and active calls for service, self-initiate calls such as patrol checks, access databases such as DMV records, and very importantly, they allow dispatch to see where our cars are using the GPS. This is important because if something happens to us and dispatch can’t reach us on the radio, they will at least know the location of the car and send help our way.
Also inside the cars are the dash and backseat cameras. These cameras are constantly running. When the camera is activated, either manually or automatically when the emergency lights come on, the recording starts 30 seconds prior to the activation. This is intended to capture incidents that occur suddenly. In addition to these cameras, some of our patrol cars have automated license plate readers. These cameras take photos of license plates which helps us find stolen cars and missing people.
Many of our cars also have a Lo/Jack locator to help us find stolen cars. We also have the police radios. Yes radios. There is our regular Seal Beach police radio (we also monitor Los Alamitos and Cypress Police Departments). And we have a radio where we can talk to all police agencies in Orange County.
All of this technology requires a lot of power. Without keeping the car running to charge the battery, not only would the technology systems shut off, but it would also drain the car’s battery. This is not to say that we let cars idle 24/7. We keep the cars on if we are in the field and the devices need to be charged. When they don’t need to be charged, we turn the car off to conserve gas.
You might also be wondering if all of our gear, including our less-lethal shotguns and patrol rifles, are secured while the engine is running. They most certainly are. When the idle switch is activated, there is no way to put the car into drive. The doors and weapons locks remain secured.
Thanks Charles for the great question this week. Seal Beach, if you have more questions, please email them to me at askacop@sealbeachca.gov.
