Police restart computer system

Advertiser Staff

Honolulu Police Department technicians yesterday began restarting the computer system that was shut down because of a technical glitch Wednesday and they expected to have all mobile computers in patrol cars online by the end of last night.

By 6 p.m. yesterday, no glitches were reported from the eight police districts, said Assistant Chief Karl Godsey.

The trouble started Wednesday night when a backlog of data from the mobile computing system interfered with the police digital radio system, preventing voice communications between some officers and dispatchers.

The computers were shut down and voice transmissions were transferred back to the old, nondigital radio system for about three hours. The digital radio system was back up by 11 p.m. Wednesday, Godsey said.

Technicians began restarting the mobile computers — which allow officers to check license-plate, arrest and warrant data from their cars — at 6 a.m. yesterday, Godsey said. The system was expected to go back online, one district at a time, throughout the day, he said.

The data backlog was first noticed after some officers began testing a system allowing text messages.