Having these capabilities in the field--whether on foot patrol, at an airport security checkpoint, or during a routine traffic stop, for example--could help personnel across a variety of agencies access useful data and respond more effectively to calls.

You have the right to simplicity, flexibility
Voyager is in operation across the country with nearly 500 sworn officers. Nearly all of the current Voyager deployments use Palm IIIx, Palm VII or Palm VIIx handhelds, though the Voyager applications are device agnostic and will run on virtually any operating system. They can be used on any personal handheld, "intelligent" phone, notebook, or desktop computer capable of accessing a public or private wireless network.

The Acadia Parish Sheriff's Office in Crowley, Louisiana has deployed Voyager Query on Palm VII handhelds and desktop devices. Deputies can run standard queries of names, drivers' licenses, license plates, vehicle registrations, and property, and they can also access proprietary narcotics and Sheriff's Office databases. In addition, the Sheriff's Office is planning to utilize Voyager Contact to track details of traffic stops.

Voyager operates under an ASP (Application Service Provider) model, so no client infrastructure investment is required. Users pay a monthly fee for the service and hardware to the company's subsidiary, TriTech Secure Data Solutions, Inc. (TriTech SDS). Voyager applications are hosted on TriTech servers and provide a secure portal to state and federal criminal justice information systems and databases. TriTech provides all systems support on a round-the-clock basis.

Sheriff Ken Goss notes, "I'm impressed with the simplicity and versatility of the Voyager handheld applications. The response time is great, and our investigators really like being able to access criminal history information from the field. The security of the applications ensures you can be confidential when you need to send a message or get information."

Public safety: encryption and authentication keep information secure
To keep data secure, the solution is encrypted at 128-bit end-to-end, using the newest AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithms, and it's compliant with both Criminal Justice Information Systems audit standards and FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 wireless data transmission standards.

TriTech encrypts all query information prepared for transmission using state-of-the-art encryption tools. Once the Search key on the device is activated, the data is encrypted as it travels to a receiving server. When the message is received at the host server, authentication routines verify that the message came from an authorized Voyager device and that the person generating the search is an authorized system user who has entered an appropriate user name and password.

Such stringent authentication routines prevent unauthorized use in the event a Voyager unit is lost or stolen. Upon successful authentication, the query is routed to the host agency's message switch, which relays the query to the appropriate state department of justice and department of motor vehicle databases, and then on to the NCIC (National Criminal Information Center) databases. Return information follows the reverse path back to the requesting handheld device. Most searches begin returning information back to the Voyager device in under ten seconds.