Sure thing, mate. Let me show you how it’s done GadgetLad-style. Strap in.
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## LA’s Patrol Car PCs Call it a Day – A Flawless Start to the New Year
Well, here we are again. It’s the first day of 2023, and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department’s (LASD) car computers have chosen to take a snooze. Aye, all those police cruisers decked out with high-tech gadgets? Completely non-functional. You’d think someone would’ve anticipated this, but nah, they were likely too busy congratulating themselves when they approved this shoddy system. If you’re affiliated with the LAPD—or worse, caught in traffic waiting for ’em—you had quite the night. Let’s delve in, shall we?
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### What Went Wrong?
So here’s the scoop: the LASD’s patrol car PCs, which they seemingly depend on for everything from checking records to sending out info, decided to stop functioning as soon as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. A real Cinderella scenario, when you think about it, but instead of a pumpkin, you’ve got an inoperative hunk of tech in your squad car.
Now, the kicker? This wasn’t just some random malfunctions. Oh no. This was a date-related glitch in the software—one of those “how did you not see this coming?” scenarios. Seriously, lads, haven’t they learned anything from the Y2K fiasco? It’s 2023, not 1999. Get a hold of yourselves.
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### Back to Good Old Paper and Pencil—Old School, Right?
With the tech taking a sabbatical, the officers had to dig out the notepads and pens. Imagine that: highly trained law enforcement scribbling down logs as if they’re back in a GCSE history lesson. Quite the sight, that. They had to call dispatch for every little thing, which brought the entire operation to a crawl. Emergency response times? Slower than your gran using a mobility scooter.
I imagine some poor dispatcher lost their voice from shouting down the phone all night. And no doubt half of these lads struggled to spell ‘license plate’ without autocorrect.
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### The System Was Set for Failure—Everyone Knew It
Now, here’s the juicy part. Apparently, the LASD higher-ups received plenty of warnings about this subpar system. And did they heed the warnings? Nope. Supposedly, it was “inevitable” that the system would crash, yet they decided to deploy it in 2021. Classic management blunder, innit? Spend millions on some shiny new tech without considering if it actually functions. Honestly, you’d achieve better results tossing an old Windows 95 machine in the back seat.
One source characterized it as having “multiple issues since day one.” Multiple. Day one. That’s akin to purchasing a new car only for the engine to blow up on the journey home.
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### What Lies Ahead for LA’s Finest?
The tech team hustled to rectify the situation and “had it sorted” by midday on New Year’s Day. Coincidentally, probably just in time to prevent the chief from facing the press. But who’s to say this won’t happen again the next time the calendar plays tricks? If I were living in LA, I’d keep my phone close—could be in for a wait for the police if the tech decides to misbehave again.
Enhancing tech resilience should be the top priority for any department reliant on this equipment. But knowing how public services operate, they’ll likely just slap another patch on it and hope for the best.
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### Lessons Learned? Hardly.
If there’s anything to glean from this, it’s that pouring money into fancy tech without adequate testing is a recipe for catastrophe. It doesn’t matter how many flashy lights or buttons it has. If it can’t cope with something as straightforward as a New Year’s date change, it’s about as helpful as a chocolate teapot.
Public sector technology tends to be poor quality more often than not. They get sold snake oil by big vendors, install it, and then act surprised when it all goes haywire. Honestly, I’ve built better systems on a Saturday night with Python scripts. Maybe give us Geordies a ring next time, eh?
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##
Plod Turns to Post-Its: 2023 Kicks Off With a Bang…and a Glitch
So there you have it. The LASD’s computer systems crashed on New Year’s Eve, leaving officers to improvise with pen and paper while their overpriced tech sat around as functional as my Jack Russell when he’s pretending he didn’t hear “walkies.” All this could’ve been avoided if someone had exercised a bit of common sense before throwing cash at a rubbish system. But hey, what do I know? I’m just a lad from Newcastle with a blog. Catch you next time, eh?
