L.A. Sheriff’s Department goes back to pen and paper after computer system is still down

 As of Friday morning, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department confirmed that their computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system was still down. This has forced officers to use radios and pen and paper instead of patrol car computers. The issue started on Tuesday around 4:30 pm when the Department sent a message stating that the personnel from the communication and fleet management bureau, data systems bureau, and international services division were troubleshooting the CAD. Since then, they have not had an estimated time for service restoration. 

The department said the three teams are collaborating to develop a temporary alternative solution. While the CAD system does not affect the work officers do on the streets, it does make it a little slower. Officers are working with pen and paper to keep their logs. Their body-worn cameras were not affected. 

The CAD system is used by the 23 LA County Sheriff stations. When someone calls 911 it goes to the closest sheriff’s station and once deputies are dispatched, they receive critical information through the CAD system. For the past three days since the system went down, dispatchers are writing down all the information. Then they call the deputies en route, who also have to write the information down. 

“They don’t have the ability to run people or plates. They can’t pull report numbers to give to people, so they have to call dispatch,” an officer who asked to remain anonymous told the LA Times on Wednesday. 

A request made years ago

Former LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva blamed the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and current Sheriff Robert Luna for the “fiasco.” He said via X that the board refused multiple requests for replacing the “ancient CAD system, and I personally warned Luna of the consequences.”

Villanueva also shared a letter sent to the board of supervisors on September 16, 2022, requesting funding for a new CAD system and Records Management System (RMS). In the letter, he stated the CAD system they have was implemented in the late 1980s and operates on hardware/software platforms that are no longer supported by manufacturers.

“It is not a matter of ‘IF’ there will be a catastrophic and unrecoverable failure of the RMS or CAD system, but a question of ‘WHEN.’”

At that moment, Villanueva said the failure would produce a significant danger to the citizens of LA County. 

In November 2023, however, Sheriff Luna sent a letter to “potential proposers,” or organizations qualified to provide a commercial off-the-shelf CAD and mobile computing solution. As of now, they are in the process of approving them.

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn said deputies need technology they can rely on. She confirmed the department started a process to replace the system in 2023, but it is taking too long, and what just happened is a wake up call. 

“I stand ready to help them get new technology in place as soon as possible,” she said. “I hope our Sheriff’s Department is looking at all their systems that affect public safety and making any needed improvements so this doesn’t happen again."