As part of the enhanced security initiative during the Winter Games, the WVPD used Aether Systems’ PocketBlue handheld computer application for law enforcement. Using handheld computers running PocketBlue, officers could file queries to the National Crime Information Center and other law enforcement and driver information databases over a secure wireless network.

In addition, as visitors entered the E-Center, officers used PocketBlue to perform random checks to safeguard the area as much as possible.

PocketBlue has provided officers with an outstanding new tool to prevent crime, exchange messages and take action when necessary, said Lt. Charles Illsley of the West Valley City Police Department. Police officers were able to issue inquires from remote sites without having to go back and forth to their vehicles. Response times for most inquiries were five seconds, he added.

Before heading to the Olympics, Aether’s PocketBlue was tested by the Louisiana State Police at the Super Bowl in New Orleans, and officers at Boston’s Logan International Airport have also been using PocketBlue.

"In just a few short months, PocketBlue has been field tested in the most demanding environments, and is quickly achieving ‘must have’ status in the law enforcement community," commented Mick Mancuso, president of Aether Systems Group.