Cell Phones On Duty

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cell Phones On Duty

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:18:02 AM EDT

Do any of you use your personnel cell phones while on duty?

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:46:42 AM EDT

[#1]

Quoted:
Do any of you use your personnel cell phones while on duty?

Yes...tax ride off for business purposes. Have to call appropriate divisions to get holds for prisoners, call the DA's office, etc.

If you're talking about using it for personal use while on duty than of course who doesn't?

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:49:54 AM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:
Do any of you use your personnel cell phones while on duty?

Yes. Deputies don't get issued a cell phone...only about everyone else in the command chain does, though.Of course , the downside is that if they issue it, you have to carry it and answer it. Since they don't want you to make personal calls on an agency phone, that means guys who are issued one are stuck having to cart around two phones; their own and the agency phone.

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:50:12 AM EDT

[#3]

Most of our cops carry nextels on duty, and a few other towns issue them to thier patrols. Makes things hella convienent when I'm trying to get ahold of someone.

Posted: 5/1/2004 9:26:04 AM EDT

[#4]

Most of us carry personal ones (tax write off), and some are issued.

You writing a policy? Ive got some ideas for you.

Art in KY

Posted: 5/1/2004 9:36:44 AM EDT

[#5]

I guess we are pretty lucky. The entire drug unit (consists of about 350 detectives, 2 Majors, a few Lt's and a bunch of Sgts) gets issued Nextels. We are alloted 800 minutes a month, and unlimited nights and weekends. We also have unlimited direct connect. Not to shabby. Of course the phones are for work related calls only

Posted: 5/1/2004 2:16:56 PM EDT

[#6]

I am reimbursed $30 a month for mine.

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:46:59 PM EDT

[#7]

I used to be on call as a supervisor and for major crashes (traffic homicide investigations). They issued me a beeper. I felt obligated to answer the thing any time it went off. They cut back and took the beeper away from me. All the other supervisors got dept issued call phones. They didn't see fit to issue me one. That's OK by me.

Now I have my own cell phone and they don't have my cell phone number. Now I'm not obligated to return calls if they need me. My off time is very important to my family and I.

Two can play at that game.

Colt_SBR

Posted: 5/1/2004 3:58:57 PM EDT

[#8]

I get a dept issued one. But I still carry My personal cell phone. We have limited air time and they get a printout of every call we make. We have to reinburse them for every personal call. It is cheaper
to keep my own. Besides it is a tax write off for side jobs. Be careful using nextels. They use an 800
mhz non digital signal which any scanner can pick up. Some of our local vice units found this out the hard way. Also that direct connect is a 2 way sword. I would sure as hell hate to be doing a building search etc and it go off.

Posted: 5/1/2004 5:11:10 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
I get a dept issued one. But I still carry My personal cell phone. We have limited air time and they get a printout of every call we make. We have to reinburse them for every personal call. It is cheaper
to keep my own. Besides it is a tax write off for side jobs. Be careful using nextels. They use an 800
mhz non digital signal which any scanner can pick up. Some of our local vice units found this out the hard way. Also that direct connect is a 2 way sword. I would sure as hell hate to be doing a building search etc and it go off.

That's why I never carry cell phone, pager, etc on my belt while on duty.

Posted: 5/1/2004 8:37:03 PM EDT

[#10]

I carry my cell with me almost everywhere I go. I carry it for MY convenience, though. Which means it is turned off until I need to make a call, or I am expecting a call. As I told my wife, leave me voice mail or call dispatch to pass on a message, I will not risk having that phone ring during a building search or other tense situation.

Dave

Posted: 5/2/2004 3:58:28 AM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:
Quoted:

That's why I never carry cell phone, pager, etc on my belt while on duty.

That why I use a leather holder and keep it on vibrate mode, It does not make a buzzying nose but you can sure feel it. It also makes a very good back up communitcations devie. There are a lot more cell towers in my area than police radio towers.

Posted: 5/2/2004 4:47:37 AM EDT

[#12]

Seems to me I see a lot of LEO’s talking on cells while on patrol or parked in a speed trap.

Posted: 5/2/2004 5:45:02 AM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Quoted:

That's why I never carry cell phone, pager, etc on my belt while on duty.

That why I use a leather holder and keep it on vibrate mode, It does not make a buzzying nose but you can sure feel it. It also makes a very good back up communitcations devie. There are a lot more cell towers in my area than police radio towers.

Good point because lord knows I hope I never have to put my life on that damn handheld.

Posted: 5/2/2004 6:52:56 AM EDT

[#14]

Mine is so small I carry it in my right side shirt pocket and keep it on vibrate mode. Never leave it on a ring tone.

No one hears the vibrate mode and no one knows it's there. I can also get to it easily if I really need it in an emergency.

Colt_SBR

Posted: 5/2/2004 6:38:40 PM EDT

[#15]

I keep mine in my bag and check it occasionally. I figure it is the same as any other job. No big deal to take/make a personal call every once in a while but it shouldn't get in the way. I sure as hell don't want the woman calling me to tell me to get some milk on the way home and putting me in danger.

Quoted:
Seems to me I see a lot of LEO’s talking on cells while on patrol or parked in a speed trap.

yeah - probably taking calls.

i don't know about you guys, but everyone takes a cell phone on the road. It is used for contacting records, returning calls to citizens where the call type doesn't warrant a face to face contact, secure comms, keeping the radio clear, etc.

Posted: 5/2/2004 7:04:31 PM EDT

[#16]

Yes, but it stays in the car.

Posted: 5/2/2004 8:31:52 PM EDT

[#17]

Issued NEXTEL. It is mandatory to keep it "on or about your person" when on-duty. I used to leave it in the call, but as a supervisor, I have to always have it, because dispatch or the troops are always "bumping" you. Set on vibrate it causes no stealth issues, and makes for a great back-up commo device and way to keep more sensitive comms off the regularly scanned airwaves and off recorded channels.

As to the personal end, it used to be pretty open-ended, and you use it for personal business as long as you didn't burn too many minutes per month. They just changed it to pretty much eliminate all but brief personal calls.

What is bad about them is they eliminated pagers for us on-call folks and are using paging over NEXTEL, which means that anyone who has your cell phone number can and will call you whenever they feel a compelling need, and the phone is sitting on the nightstand so I don't miss a call-out. This may get a litttle ugly when we go to nights.

Posted: 5/3/2004 8:22:46 AM EDT

[#18]

Same as most here, in shirt pocket on vibrate. The only bad thing is the Motorola phone I have lights up when it rings, vibrate or not. Causes a nice blue glow in the pocket. If I'm going on a call where stealth might be needed and I'm not alone, the phone goes in the car. Oh, it's personally owned and the Dept. doesn't have the number.

A little side story about why Police should have a cell phone or alternate commo means on them when on duty if possible. While walking to work one day, I happened upon an armed robbery where the perps had just taken off 10-15 seconds before my arrival. As luck would have it, when I tried my portable (shitty thing that it is) it was dead. I had just taken it off the charger about 30 minutes prior to this. All I got off was "Bub to Dispatch" and it died. Luckily, I had my cell phone to call Dispatch and inform them to get Officers in cars headed in that direction. Took a few minutes but at least I had another commo option. As luck would have it, they got away. But we figured out who they were and Grand Jury is next month!

Bub

Posted: 5/5/2004 2:20:44 PM EDT

[#19]

Yes, carry my own and do the tax deduction thing. Working undercover/plainclothes, we don't have the ability to carry or conceal a handheld, so the phone is a neccessity!

Posted: 5/5/2004 2:38:05 PM EDT

[#20]

Have a personal nextel that stays in the car , unless i am gonna be a long time on a call, or eating. It always stays in the car on Priority calls.

Posted: 5/8/2004 10:45:32 AM EDT

[#21]

Not a LEO but fire........ We all have personal Nextels...... Use direct connect ALOT!

Posted: 5/10/2004 6:10:39 PM EDT

[#22]

I'm not LE, but this should pertend to you folks who carry it around. I can't cut & paste the story because it is a video, but it is from KCBS website, a L.A. affiliate of CBS
cbs2.com/

The title of the story is:
Cell Phone Jamming: Officials Want To Block Signals During Terror Threats

The reason for blocking cell phones is that it was used to set off the Madrid bombs.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cell Phones On Duty

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