Armed With HandheldsArmed With Handhelds

Massachusetts state troopers working at Boston's Logan Airport now have wireless access to the National Crime Information Center thanks to technology from Aether that delivers data to BlackBerry handheld devices.

Eighty troopers working at Logan are using the BlackBerrys to quickly send information gathered from license plates or by talking to individuals at the airport to the National Crime Information Center to check for stolen vehicles, outstanding warrants, or previous felonies. When an inquiry is made via the handheld, the data is sent through a wireless network to a server at the Lake County, Fla., sheriff's office. Once data is received, it's transmitted back to the device. Massachusetts is in the process of upgrading its interfaces with the National Crime Information Center. Once completed, it will use its own servers instead of the one in Florida.

This will let the troopers conduct more checks in less time, says a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Port Authority. Prior to using the devices, troopers had to radio or telephone inquiries and then wait for a response. The pilot program will continue for the next month or two. The Port Authority then will decide whether to continue using the devices.