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is id eh al to n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ay 1 0, 20 18 | £> NEWS New vehicle part of $850K MCU Replacement Project • Continued from page 16 Davis noted moving for­ ward with the services' RV- style MCU wasn't really an option. He said that vehicle was built in 2002 and while it was considered cutting edge at that time, the technological needs of the police service have grown beyond what this older vehicle can hold. Davis also pointed out that as this vehicle ages its repair time increases, which in turn means longer periods where the vehicle is not available for an emer­ gency. He said the option of buy­ ing two smaller MCUs over one large one was prefera­ ble as one will be available if the other is busy at another incident or if one is unavail­ able due to maintenance. "As we grow we just have to have some of that capaci­ ty," said Davis. Jason Dale of the Halton Police Planning and Re­ search Bureau said MCU #1 is essentially an office on wheels and that anything of­ ficers can do in a police sta­ tion can be done in the vehi­ cle. Once MCU #1 stops- pan­ elling can be extended on ei­ ther side to create addition­ al room and four pillars touch down to give officers inside the vehicle a level surface to work with. Inside, a video wall fea­ tures eight screens, some of which display news pro­ grams, while others display rotating missing and want­ ed persons photos and infor­ mation. The screens can also dis­ play video from the high- definition camera in place at the top of the vehicle's 35- foot mast. Dale displayed this mo­ bile camera's amazing zoom capabilities at one point ze­ roing in on the writing of a poster on the front of the Halton police headquarters a least 60 yards away. A central table in MCU #1 features a touch screen map, which allows officers to see in real time where nearby police vehicles are deployed. "They can actually draw on the map and mark where they want the officers to stage or close roads," said Dale. The vehicle has a satel­ lite phone so if the cell net­ work went down MCU #1 could still communicate with police headquarters and MCU #2. The vehicle also has a room equipped with a cam­ era, which can be used to in­ terview witnesses following a crime. One unique feature is a video screen on the side of the vehicle, which can share messages and information with the public. "We could put up pic­ tures of missing children at an event or Crime Stoppers or police contact informa­ tion," said Dale. Davis noted that if the MCU #1 was deployed to a crime scene the screen could feature information to area residents about why the police are there and what they could do to help. Other less exciting, but important features include a Prox card reader system to access the MCU. Dale noted that given the number of people coming and going from the MCU the vehicle's keys going miss­ ing or being locked inside had been a problem. A toilet equipped with an incinerator was another im­ portant change. Dale said the previous MCU was equipped with a standard vehicle toilet, however, this meant the wa­ ter in the toilet would freeze if the vehicle wasn't stored inside during the winter. "This actually caused us a lot of problems," said Dale. Halton police were able to secure a $60,000 grant from the province's Civil Remedies Program for the MCU's video systems and controls. The information con­ cerning MCU #l's arrival was well received by the po­ lice board. "We see this project as a way of proving that it is not just words when we say that we have a reciprocal re­ sponsibility to the service to make sure we provide you with everything possible to make sure you go home to your family and loved ones," said Oakville mayor and board chair Rob Bur­ ton. "When we saw the jerry- rigged things in the RV and the rescue van your board said, 'OK, that has to be fixed.'" The MCU #1 is expected to have a 10-year operation­ al life. COMMUNITY Shred events aid Crime Stoppers of Halton -- and help prevent identity theft Halton residents are in­ vited to 'Feed the Beast' in an effort to protect them­ selves against identity theft and fraud. For a cash dona­ tion to Crime Stoppers of Halton, individuals and business owners can have their personal and sensitive documents destroyed at one of two Shred events this month. The FileBank 'Beast' -- a state-of-the-art mobile shredding vehicle -- will be on hand at Burlington's M.M. Robinson High School (2525 Upper Middle Road) on Saturday, May 26 and at Hal­ ton Regional Centre in Oak­ ville (1151 Bronte Rd., park­ ing lots A,B and C) on Sun­ day, May 27. Both events run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Identity theft remains one of the highest means of fraud -- with losses in the billions of dollars -- and Det. Const. Jody Richmond stresses the importance of ensuring documents with personal information are destroyed properly. "Items such as cancelled cheques, financial records, old letterhead, invoices, cop­ ies of job applications or anything containing per­ sonal information can easi­ ly be used by criminals to obtain credit cards, steal money from bank accounts, procure passports or other identification and even get a mortage on your home with­ out you even knowing," said Richmond, police coordina­ tor for Halton Crime Stop­ pers. FileBank's shredding is eco-friendly, since all docu­ ments pulverized through the mobile equipment are recycled into new paper products. Those bringing old finan­ cial records and other docu­ ments to the shredding site in Burlington will receive a 500-sheet package of recy­ cled paper courtesy of Dom- tar, one of Canada's leading paper producers. "Shred events are a win- win situation for everyone," said Richmond.