NORWICH – On April 21, The Norwich City Police Department received approval from the city common council to upgrade two patrol cars with new computers.

According to Police Chief Rodney Marsh, the vehicles are currently using older refurbished laptops, which can be unreliable in certain conditions.

“We've tried to use the laptops, refurbished ones, home laptops, and they’re just not built to stand up to the rigors of being in the car and the temperature changes and the dirty environment and stuff and we've had a lot of problems with them,” said Marsh.

The total cost for the new computer systems will be almost $12,500 for two patrol cars. Alderman Robert Jeffery moved to recommend the common council approve the transfer of funds to purchase the computers. The motion was seconded by Alderman Matthew Caldwell and received an unanimous approval from the council.