Shreveport PD’s Fancy New Patrol Vehicles Have a Major Flaw

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Do you remember when the Shreveport Police Department rolled out their latest fleet of high-tech cruisers and patrol cars?  Earlier this year, the entire town was buzzing about the 80 mysterious black vehicles just sitting in a parking lot outside of Stage Works  downtown.  As it turned out, this was the SPD's new fleet awaiting all of the bells and whistles that make a police car a police car.  Now that all of the gear has been installed and (most of) these units are actually rolling around town we are learning that a "glitch" is preventing one of the most important devices installed on the vehicles from working properly.

The Crucial Dashboard Cameras In the Shreveport Police's New Vehicles Don't Work as Advertised

The vehicles are Ford Interceptors with special engine, transmission, and suspension packages suited for police work like engaging in high-speed pursuits.  The rest of the gadgets (light bars, sirens, brush guards, communication systems, etc.) are installed by a company called TEECO.  While the bulk of these vehicles are outfitted and on the streets today, a handful are still in the shop.  Unfortunately, a "glitch" is preventing all of the crucial dashboard cameras from uploading the video files it captures.

The "Glitch" in the Shreveport Police Vehicles Dashboard Cameras Means Extra Work For Police

The dashboard video system in the Shreveport Police's new vehicles is supposed to wirelessly upload video files it captures at regular intervals to a central server.  However a failure in the software and the special antenna the system uses to transmit the data is keeping this process from happening.  The cameras are still recording video and saving it to a hard drive in the vehicle, but to get those files to where they belong officers have to physically remove that drive in order to connect it and upload the videos.

The Issue with Shreveport Police's Dashboard Cameras Won't Be Fixed Quickly

According to a report from KTBS, the microchips needed to make replacements for the faulty equipment are in short supply.  This is causing a major delay in fixing the "glitch" that is preventing dashboard cameras in SPD vehicles from uploading video files wirelessly.  Reportedly, this shortage means it could take up to 5 months to get the system working the way it was designed to.