By Roslyn Ryan
Editor

Former Powhatan County Sheriff Nelson Batterson likes to say that, when he served, one of the best tools he had to work with was the one between his ears.
“I knew what the law was,” said Batterson, who started with the department in 1961, “and I tried to apply common sense.”

As important as common sense remains, Batterson had a good reason for relying so heavily on it back then: particularly in the early years of his career, it was pretty much all he had.
When Batterson was elected Sheriff in 1971, taking over for Sheriff Floyd W Simpson, he had one deputy, no radio system, and a single government issue .45 automatic pistol.
He had no dispatchers, and if he needed to respond to a call — back then, said Batterson, he was familiar with “around 90 percent” of the county’s 7,696 residents and knew where they lived — he had to drive his own car.

A decade later, when current Powhatan County Sheriff Greg Neal began his career, police work was still heavily dependant on many of the same communication techniques officers had used for decades.

Granted, the population in Powhatan was still considerably smaller than it is today, and that may have accounted for the somewhat less technical way directions were sometimes doled out to officers.

“Years ago a dispatcher might send you to a street address, and have to say ‘Go to the pine tree, [and] turn right at Curtis’ house,’” remembers Neal, whose officers now rely on in-car computers and GPS to pinpoint exact locations. 

Needless to say, plenty of other things have changed as well.

Fingerprints used to be taken by rolling a person’s fingers in ink; now there are computerized scanners for that.

When Batterson started there were no bulletproof vests; now that equipment is standard issue.

Weaponry has changed as well. “Years ago there was no pepper spray, no asp, no Tasers,” said Neal. “You either put your hands on [someone] or you shot them, there was no in-between.”
As much as technology has changed the physical nature of police work, it’s also impacted the investigative side tremendously.

Two decade ago, officers looking for background information on a suspect would likely have found themselves engaged in an exchange with other police departments involving phone calls, faxing and sending information through the mail.

Now the Powhatan Sheriff’s Department is part of the LINX system, a network that allows county officers to share data throughout the Central Virginia region. 

The system gives Powhatan law enforcement the ability to access arrest records and other reports from over 100 other departments.

* * *

Over at Area Six State Police headquarters, First Sergeant D. Wayne Holland is surrounded by daily reminders of how far technology has advanced everything from communications to forensic science.

He’s also not immune, however, to its occasional shortcomings.

“Computers are some of the best things and some of the worst things,” he said pragmatically a few months ago, just days after a power outage had him and his office feeling somewhat “disconnected from the world.”

He has also had to overcome his own occasional reluctance to get on the new technology bandwagon.

“It’s been a gradual thing [for me],” said Holland, noting that new troopers often come to the force already comfortable with things he is just getting used to. “[But] I have to accept it or get left out in the cold.”

As much as he has embraced the new tools his office now has access to, Sheriff Neal admits there are certain things he likes more than others.

He doesn’t like to text, for example, preferring to simply pick up the phone.

One might ask—delicately of course—if the desire to embrace new technology might sometimes run along generational lines.

Yes, said Neal, to a point. But, he added, that enthusiasm sometimes needs to be tempered by common sense and an eye toward cost/benefit.

“The younger ones, this is exciting to them,” said Neal. “[They think] ‘This is a no-brainer, we must get this.’ But you have to look at it sometimes. This piece of equipment may cost $10,000 for one…can we wait on this? Plus, if we wait, the price will come down.”

There is also, of course, the obvious fact that for all the time and trouble that technology might save, even the most expensive piece of equipment can’t do everything.

A computer will never be able to communicate empathy, and even the most advanced weaponry or equipment requires a cool head and common sense at the controls.

When it comes to things like interview and interrogation, there is no substitute for experience and face to face contact.

“I consider it an art,” said Neal. “To be successful you have to be good at it. I don’t see that changing a whole lot.”

Holland, for his part, agrees.

“In the end, you have to have a strong commitment [to police work],” he said. As efficient and effective as technology has allowed officers to be, he said, “you still have to have people skills.”