OTTAWA — The Ottawa Police Department has received a new federal grant that will help pay part of the costs to put computers in Ottawa, Franklin County and Wellsville patrol cars. Police Chief Dennis Butler said the patrol computers will make officers more efficient and stay out on patrol rather than being in the station filing reports. Officers will be able to download information on their own, transfer information car to car and file reports from their cars, he said. Officers will be more efficient and effective, he said. The $78,000 grant will allow the three departments buy the computer software that will allow the patrol-car computers communicate with each other. That work should be done by the first of next year.
