Usability Evaluation of Police Mobile Computer Terminals: A Focus Group Study.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of police officers' deaths in the line of duty. Previous studies have found that officer distraction caused by in-vehicle technologies such as the mobile computer terminal (MCT) is one of the main causes of these crashes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the usability issues of existing MCTs implemented in police vehicles across the U.S. and to provide recommendations to improve future technologies. Two focus group meetings were conducted with police officers from different departments. The discussion was analyzed based on Molich and Nielsen's usability principles and using a directed content analysis approach. The most frequently mentioned usability issues were related to the inappropriate presentation of information on the MCT and the lack of interface consistency and adaptability. The provided recommendations can be beneficial in improving police in-vehicle technology design and safety of officers in police operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]