LASD's dispatch system suffers early morning crash on New Year's Day

In the midst of what is inevitably one of the busiest nights of the year for law enforcement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department computer dispatch system crashed, leaving them to handle things like they had many years in the past. 

The issue was first noted at around 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve, when department officials were "made aware that several patrol stations were having difficulty logging on to their patrol vehicles' mobile digital computers," according to a department statement. 

They were able to determine that their Computer Aided Dispatch program was not allowing people to log in "with the new year," which made the program inoperable. 

"As a result, the Department is currently operating on self-dispatch while the issue is being addressed," the release said. "Calls for service are still being responded to and are being manually tracked at the station level."

Captains remained in communication with city and county officials to ensure that department service could remain uninterrupted during the busy time.

Despite the interruption, radio communications and 911 lines remained fully operational, deputies said.

In their release, department officials noted "significant challenges with outdated technology" that have been an issue for a while. 

"Since taking office, the Sheriff has emphasized the urgent need to improve and upgrade our internal systems," the release noted. "In mid-2023, the Department issued a formal request for proposal to acquire a new modernized, centralized CAD system that will greatly enhance our capabilities."

Department officials are still working to determine both temporary and long-term solutions to the technical issue as of Wednesday evening.