The Police Car Erector Set

A great police car ergonomics secret

Twisting is almost eliminated when typing in the driver's seat.

All photos by Boyd Bryant Typing outside the police car.

Typing from the passenger seat is more comfortable than the desk in your office.

In a quiet residential neighborhood in South Seattle is a non-descript warehouse that contains some of the brightest and most creative people I've met.

Jeff Carnevali, C.E.O. of National Products, has created a magic bullet for police work, or better, put magic bullets for computing in a police car.

Mr. Carnevali provided me with a tour of the facility. Inside the warehouse that is buzzing with activity, fully automated molding machines form parts for the Ram Mounting Systems computer mounting product line. The company has been around since 1994 and steadily developed an unrivaled product selection that makes them a one-stop shop for devices that hold any type of computer mounted on any kind of vehicle or shop application. The Ram Mount system exploded onto the police scene very visibly at a number of 2005 police trade shows. They are a force to be reckoned with.

Mr. Carnevali plays it all down. "I'm just a tool and die man," he said.

By keeping the company lean, Mr. Carnevali is able to take new ideas from concept to fabricated part in six weeks or less. A visit to Ram Mounting Systems' web site will reveal a staggering variety of component parts that are, for the most part, interchangeable. The system works the right way. Mounting brackets use existing seat bolts to hold a computer mounting bracket, The system can be built up from the floor of the police vehicle. Telescoping vertical posts and pivoting arms lead to a ball mount that allows for any angle of tilt or pivot for the product. The vertical posts can be ordered in a variety of heights, and floor mounts are available for most domestic vehicles used as police cars.

The positive side of this is the ease with which any agency can customize the laptop mounting system and the speed with which officers from 4'10' to seven feet tall can re adjust the mounting system to fit their size and personal preference.

Can you get a computer directly in front of the officer? No. But the officer can, with the proper components, turn the passenger seat of the car into a very ergonomically acceptable workstation.

Those agencies who are using traditional vehicle consoles may wish to mount the laptop and its associated pivoting system on the console. Ram Mounts offers a number of solutions in the form of brackets that either bolt to the top or side of an existing metal patrol car console.

A simple read of west coast salary scales shows that, in many cities, cost per officer in the field is easily over $100,000.00 per year. This is particularly true when the operational support costs and benefits costs are added into the totals for all officers fielded. The advent of data sharing and typewritten reports is continuing to force police officers to leave their beat in order to type at computers inside police facilities. Typing in police cars isn’t generally accepted as ergonomically sound and is therefore a challenge that many agencies and businesses are seeking to address. Solutions like those from Ram Mounting Systems provide a fresh and flexible approach that can bring an ergonomically acceptable solution to computing in a police car.

Our agency is currently testing the product. The adjustability is greatly appreciated by officers, but some have expressed concern that others using the car don't re-tighten the adjustment points connected to the laptop mounting system. I believe that this is a training issue that will have to be addressed continually. Just like making sure your weapon is secure, you need to check your vehicle gear.

Other solutions, such as use of either USB-based wired or wireless keyboards, are a bootleg solution developed by officers who prefer to be in the field rather than driving to a police building. Even custom machine shop solutions are available. But amazingly, for most police vehicles, the price point for a full in-car mounting system is considerably lower than any competitor -- as much as 60% less than some competitive products.

The bottom line is that we are in the business of being in touch with the community and computer based applications are only as good as the officer's in-the-field access to the system in question.

While visiting Mr. Carnevali, I observed that the mounting systems will work for anything from Bass Masters' Fish Finders to GPS direction finders on off-the-road vehicles. The systems are used on forklifts in industrial settings and delivery trucks of freight companies. The company also has an ever increasing following in the long-haul trucker market.

Let's see: American made, at considerably less cost, with an almost limitless customization capacity, and adjustments that eliminate ergonomics associated with longer typing tasks. This product line is a winner.

With the majority of manufacturing, assembly, and shipping occurring in the United States, Mr. Carnevali has combined his creativity, with an accomplished work crew, to bring a massive variety of products to market. Frankly, I wanted to wrap him in a flag and cheer for his accomplishments. The U.S.A. still has it, thanks to Mr. Carnevali and entrepreneurs like him. His products are to be considered seriously.

Web Links:

• Ram Mounting Systems

Boyd Bryant is a 27-year veteran of law enforcement and spokesman for a mid sized agency in the Pacific Northwest. He is an internationally recognized technologist, forensic examiner, professional speaker, and law enforcement project analyst. As project coordinator for an agency wide wireless broadband network project he was the recipient of the International Association of Chief's of Police (IACP) Technology Excellence Award for 2004