THE COMMAND TERMINAL: SMALL CITY CONFIGURATION

Steve Frederick, "The Command Terminal," Law and Order: an Independent Magazine for the Police Profession, May, 1971

Directed or point-to-point messages coming to the agency through the real-time information/message switching system are automatically routed for output to the teletype by the Command Terminal's small computer. This precludes interference with the dispatcher's high priority functions. Either he or another person can process the message when time permits. Outgoing directed messages can be sent from the dispatcher's visual display unit, or the teletype. In either event, the system will handle all necessary formatting and the insertion of fixed message header elements.

The design of the CT-1 Command Terminal is primarily intended to satisfy the needs of small to medium sized police agencies. Most large or very large agencies would probably require a specifically tailored installation to meet their needs, but many of the same concepts, hardware and software, can easily be adapted for this purpose.