By Bonnie Culverhouse

In an effort to keep Minden Police officers on the streets, the local department has purchased 38 laptops – one for each officer.

“They are programmed and each officer is going to get one,” said Chief Jared McIver. “It’s going to allow our officers to stay out in their patrol areas instead of having to come to the office and do all their reports there. It’s more time in the field.”

For some time, City of Minden has been looking at a Baton Rouge-based company, Kologik to supply and load software for the laptops, called Toughbooks.

“They can also function as a notebooks,” said the chief. “It’s a touchscreen but it also detaches and acts as a camera. Then it automatically uploads and synchs with their report and goes into the Cloud and the kologik/evidence.com program that we are on.”

McIver said Kologik spent a week training the officers on the program. Within the next two weeks, all officers will be equipped.

Cost of the laptops was between $15-$16,000, said the chief. Money to cover them came from the Safety Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP).

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