Lowell patrolmen agree to use of tracking devices

Police dispatchers in Lowell will soon know the exact location of patrol cars at all times, following the installation of GPS consoles in each vehicle.

Contract language that enabled the program was approved by the patrolmen’s union in early April. In return, patrolmen received a one-quarter of 1 percent pay increase, retroactive to last July. The increase is separate from the 2.5 percent raises that patrolmen are due to receive in fiscal 2014 and 2015, according to City Manager Bernard Lynch.

The city’s superior officers had already agreed to the 0.25 percent increase in exchange for the use of the GPS consoles, Lynch added.

The GPS consoles “can better inform the dispatchers for their deployments,” Lynch said. “They can see where their patrolmen are, which is obviously helpful.”

The patrolmen’s union had initially objected to the possibility that the GPS consoles could be used to monitor the behavior of individual officers.

While the main purpose of GPS consoles is to enable police to respond to emergencies more promptly, Lynch acknowledged that there could also be instances when the technology could serve to detect police malfeasance.

Wayne Sampson, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, said Lowell is among 15 to 20 cities and towns that have introduced the GPS consoles.

“Most of these communities have engaged in negotiations with unions to discuss implementation,” Sampson said.