We all know about the enormous benefit vehicle tracking devices have had on law enforcement. Investigators can use GPS trackers to keep tabs on suspects and parolees, with great results. While some have expressed serious privacy concerns over the issue—and courts will likely debate on the exact legal use of GPS trackers for years to come—it is worth noting that there’s plenty use for GPS trackers on police vehicles as well.

Many cities are beginning to outfit their police vehicles with GPS trackers as they realize the benefits. GPS units themselves are now easy enough to purchase and install, and their features more than make up for the initial investment.

One benefit is that dispatchers can easily coordinate multiple vehicles to respond to emergencies. Many real-time GPS trackers can feed location data to a central server, which can be accessed to show a map of the tracking area overlaid with the tracked units. Dispatchers can see instantly which police vehicles are closest to the area of disturbance and send units accordingly.

Of course, with closer management also comes greater accountability. Police tempted to misuse vehicles on their off-time can now be tracked by a logging system, and excess mileage is kept to a minimum. Routes can be surveyed to ensure that drivers covered their designated areas appropriately and stayed on task.

It’s not all negative, of course. Many officers are often accused of misusing their authority, and a GPS tracker log can go a long way to disprove false charges that say they were one location when they were actually in another. Also, as city roads evolve and shift, police departments often need to reexamine where their units operate and whether their existing patrols are as efficient as they could be. GPS tracker logs can help authorities choose a better distribution of vehicles and police coverage. They can examine maps overlaid with the tracking data to identify missed areas and over-concentration.

And on extreme occasions, a GPS tracker could mean the difference between life and death. Police vehicle hijackings are few and far between, but a GPS tracker onboard would ensure that any such incident would be ended shortly.

Just recently, Fort Wayne, Indiana saw its police vehicles outfitted with GPS trackers, thanks to a program that was proposed two years before. Dispatchers especially are happy with the new features, and they these new tools will help them keep everyone in their community just a little safer.