DOI Park Rangers Nags Head, North Carolina

The National Park Service (NPS) Park Rangers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Nags Head needed a reliable, portable computer solution. They needed one that could help coordinate interagency law enforcement, fire and fire aviation operations, search and rescue efforts, and emergency medical services. The computers would have to operate in a sparse, sandy environment that stretch for hundreds of miles along the mid-Atlantic coastline, often subjected to harsh hurricane conditions. The Nags Head Park Rangers opted for durable Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers and the Toughbook Arbitrator because of their solid, waterproof construction, daylight-readable screens and robust wireless connectivity. The Toughbook Arbitrator enabled park rangers to capture digital video of events for later use in prosecuting criminals. The wireless capabilities of the Toughbook rugged laptops enabled the rangers to remain in contact with headquarters and each other - allowing them to effectively patrol an area as large as Nags Head with limited personnel and resources.

After September 11th, the Department of the Interior (DOI) reorganized some of its agencies and issued new directives to ensure that all law enforcement rangers were supervised and commissioned by law enforcement officers. The reorganization was done to improve officer safety and individual accountability. And, it also gave NPS's Park Police access to financial resources to purchase new equipment. To comply with the directive, they required new mobile computing technology that could excel in harsh environmental conditions such as rain, snow and forest fires. They needed leading-edge equipment that could withstand the bumps and vibrations of traveling across rough terrains in avariety of vehicles.