LA Sheriff’s Dispatch System Down After New Year’s Day Computer Crash

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s computer dispatch system is still down after crashing on New Year’s Day. Authorities did not say what caused the crash or when their systems would be activated.

“This is our little Y2K,” said a sheriff’s deputy told the LA Times. The crash happened just hours before midnight Tuesday, causing problems with the department’s ability to handle calls related to the county’s New Year’s celebrations. LASO said the crash was caused by the system “not allowing staff access for the new year and failing to make CAD operational.”

An anonymous deputy quoted by the Times elaborated on the problem the department is facing as a result of the accident: “Call takers now have to write down all the information for each call, then dispatch has to play back all the information. details and the patrol unit should write all this,” they said. “They don’t have the ability to handle people or the plate. “They can’t pull report numbers to give to people, so they have to contact the dispatcher.”

Computer-aided dispatch (or CAD) systems are digital communications networks that police use to field 911 calls and respond to emergencies. When these systems go down (sometimes due to network failure and sometimes cyber-attacks), they force the police to manage policing like they did in the 1990s. Police reports are filed with pen and paper and 911 calls are made by radio. LA County and the city of Los Angeles have been the target of multiple cyberattacks, including debilitating attacks. ransomware attack It hit the county’s Supreme Court last summer.

It is not clear when the system will go online. “The department is working closely with our LA County partners at the Department of Internal Services to find both temporary and long-term solutions to address this technical issue,” LASD said in a statement. “Since assuming office, Sharif has emphasized the urgent need to upgrade and upgrade our internal systems. In mid-2023, the Department issued a formal request for proposals to acquire a new modernized, centralized CAD system that will significantly increase our capabilities,” the statement said.

Gizmodo has reached out to LASD for more information and will update this story when we hear back.