It's not quite Jack Bauer's superpowered cell phone, but Cornell University Police officers will soon have a lot of new communications tools at hand through mobile data terminals in their patrol cars.

Installation of the equipment, purchased long before Cornell began to see budget shortfalls, will give Cornell Police the same capabilities as Ithaca Police and the Tompkins County Sheriff's cars.

The terminals will enable officers to access databases and file reports without having to come into the police station to use desktop computers. Typically, officers spend an hour or two daily in the station doing administrative work, said Cornell Police Deputy Chief Kathy Zoner. Now much of that can be done remotely. "The best way we can serve people is to be out and about," Zoner said.

The units consist of "ruggedized" (weather-, drop- and coffee-resistant) Fujitsu computers supplied by Brite Computers of Rochester, which also supplied the terminals used by Ithaca and Tompkins County. They are mounted in the front seat of the car with a separate keyboard accessible to driver and passenger. If necessary they can be taken out of the car and used as tablet or laptop computers to, for example, input a report directly from a crime scene.

"Witnesses could even type in their own statements," Zoner suggested.

The terminals will communicate via a special secure version of Verizon mobile broadband service. Officers will have access to the department's file server in Barton Hall as well as the Department of Motor Vehicles' database and other law-enforcement databases.

Attached Honeywell HHP scanners and Pentax printers will allow officers to scan driver's licenses and other documents and receive photos, maps and other images. A Traffic and Criminal Software grant from New York state provided funding for the printers and scanners, which make up more than half of the approximately $10,000 per vehicle cost of the installations.

Cornell Police is exploring the possibility of an instant messaging system. Along with increased accuracy, Zoner notes, this would allow police to communicate about events in progress without having their communications heard on police-band scanners.

"They are a work tool," Zoner emphasized, adding, "No games."

The units will be installed in eight of the department's 12 cars. Installation will be ongoing over the next two months, Zoner said. "We are excited to bring this technology to our work force, and are looking forward to the increased efficiency of service to our community," she said.