Police Station Goes Mobile

Troopers' Vehicle Is High-Tech And Stylish

Maryland State Police officers visited Annapolis recently to show off their new mobile command center, a sleek and finely styled $1.15 million vehicle that they said is the largest of its kind in the nation.

The Mobile Incident Command Vehicle gets only about seven miles per gallon, but the trade-off is its array of capabilities, officials said. The vehicle is, in effect, a rolling police station, with a dispatch center and rooftop observation deck, and it can replace a barracks if one is knocked out of commission.

"This is not just a state police toy so we can ride around and say we got the biggest and the baddest," said Greg Shipley, a police spokesman. "This is a resource for everybody in the state."

The 56-foot-long vehicle looks something like a cross between a bus, truck and recreational vehicle. It has an exterior flat-screen monitor for outdoor briefings and radio, microwave, satellite, telephone and wireless technology that can integrate with communications systems used by state, local and federal agencies.

Oh, and it has a 300-gallon fuel tank.

"It is reassuring to know that we now have the best tool available in the nation to enable Maryland to respond better than ever before," said Col. Thomas E. "Tim" Hutchins.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) said: "Our goal is to make certain law enforcement and emergency rescue personnel can provide continuity of services and operations to communities across Maryland even if their resources have been impacted by [a] disaster. This vehicle will enable us to do that."

The vehicle was paid for by the Maryland State Highway Administration and the state police and with USA Patriot Act money. A competitive bid by Kingsley Coach of Minnesota was chosen, and the installation of technology was subcontracted to Bickford Industries of Chantilly.

Shipley said the risk of a terrorist attack contributed to the sense that such a vehicle was needed. "We realize the significance of the location we're in," he said, "and the fact that we have a lot of targets not only in the state of Maryland, but we certainly surround the District."

The vehicle's predecessor was far inferior, a smaller bus "with a few radios in the back and a few chairs up front and one 19-inch TV that's strapped down to a table," Shipley said.

The mobile headquarters' computing power is supported by four servers and more than 300 miles of wiring. The vehicle also features granite countertops, cherry-stained oak cabinetry and recessed lighting.

"We wanted someone to come in here and be awestruck, and, of course, we wanted it to be tasteful," said Michael E. Bennett, director of the state police's Electronic Systems Division.

The vehicle is stationed at the Waterloo Barracks in Jessup, in Howard County, but can be sent anywhere in the state. Police said it could be dispatched in response to anything from a large traffic accident to a terror attack. In the coming months, it will be driven around the state so that police departments can become familiar with it.

One of the vehicle's drivers, Charlie C. Lester, a retired trooper and now a civilian employee, said it rides smoothly.

"It's just like a big luxury car," he said.