TRUMBULL COUNTY Further cuts and layoffs avoided

The review of hundreds of messages uncovered a few work-related messages.
By PEGGY SINKOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- City administrators have begun reviewing records to find out if a $453,000 system that provides e-mail in city police cars is being used properly.
The e-mails police officers sent one another over the past 18 months are being reviewed by Mayor Hank Angelo and Fred Harris, safety-service director.
"We want to find out how the officers are using this equipment," Harris said.
About six weeks of police e-mails were reviewed Tuesday and more are to be looked at today.
An employee of the city's data processing department is in charge of going through the e-mails and printing out the information. A member of the police department is also present during the search, Police Chief John Mandopoulos said.
"This is costing us thousands of dollars to do," Mandopoulos said. "I am going to bill city hall."
The mayor declined to comment on who is going to pay the bill for the search.
Things to look for
"We have asked that when they do the search to look for several words, some racial slangs, to find out if officers were using any of these words when they used the system," Harris said. The administration is also checking if officers used the e-mail system to correspond about the mayor, news reporters, or Harris.
"This system is to be used for law enforcement purposes," the director said.
This summer, The Vindicator requested seven days of e-mail transmissions. Police officials at first declined to comply and gave them out only after city hall stepped in.
The city bought a computer system for cruisers in 1998 to give officers a way to communicate with one another without using the radios, which can be monitored by criminals, Lt. Joe Marhulik said.
For example, the system can be used if officers want to get out a description of a stolen car without letting the suspects know police are on to them.
So far, the review of hundreds of messages uncovered only a few work-related messages.
Cruiser, hand-held units
E-mail units, called mobile data terminals, are installed in cruisers, and the department owns an additional dozen or so hand-held units.
However, police calls, requests to look up license plates and work matters are still primarily handled by radio.
For the most part, messages are a few words long. The recent e-mails concern officers' going to city hall on the day the mayor held a predisciplinary hearing for the chief, about reading the newspapers and doing off-duty work.
sinkovich@vindy.com