With New Device, Police Shake, Rattle and Roll

Since Lanier took over the department in January, she has upgraded technology by giving officials personal digital assistants, putting laptop computers in patrol cars and automating some police reports. She also is revamping the department's internal record-keeping computer system, which has been ineffective at keeping accurate crime statistics.

Lanier added an aside about the Rumbler: "Cops love new toys."

The sirens, which cost about $350 a car, were given a tryout period in the District starting in July.

The technology, developed by Illinois-based Federal Signal Corp., is being used or tested in handful of cities, including Alexandria and New York. Other customers include police in Plymouth Township and Reading in Pennsylvania and Tequesta and Plantation in Florida, said Tom Morgan, vice president for sales and marketing for Federal Systems' Mobile Systems Group.

Morgan said the Rumbler was developed after police departments complained that, increasingly, motorists weren't responding to traditional lights and sirens.

"The basic idea is we become more insulated in our vehicles with stereos, iPods and telephones," Morgan said. "We thought it would be helpful if there was something else along with the traditional siren that would reach a different level of awareness."

In the District, people are certainly taking notice. Being near it is like standing next to a car that is blaring bass-heavy music.

"I heard it, but I didn't know what it was," said Sandra Seegars, a neighborhood activist who recently got the full Rumbler experience on Alabama Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue in Southeast. "It makes you pay attention, like, 'What's wrong with that car?' "

Police said the Rumbler has been working well and believe that it will be helpful for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. "Vibrating sirens is an interesting idea, and it could benefit all drivers, not just deaf drivers," agreed Erin Casler, a spokeswoman for Gallaudet University.

As part of the equipment upgrade, Lanier is slowly getting rid of the constantly flashing red and blue lights used by police cruisers when they patrol the streets, ending a practice her predecessor, Charles H. Ramsey, initiated in 2003 to make police cars more visible. Those lights drew complaints from some motorists who mistakenly thought they were being pulled over or that there was trouble ahead.

Lights on the new cars have a "steady blue burn," or a blue light that does not flash but adds visibility, said Groomes, the assistant chief in charge of patrols. "It increases visibility without distracting the public."

Each light bar on the new cars costs $1,800.

Both the blue lights and the Rumbler appeal to police for two reasons, she said: They quickly get the attention of the public, and, yes, they are the latest gadget.

"It's something they can show off," Groomes said.

Staff writer Peter Perl contributed to this report.