“The three patrol cars that make up the Coupeville Marshal’s Office may soon get some new bells and whistles, so to speak.Town Marshal Lenny Marlborough has fund-raising underway for some relatively high-tech equipment that will help push the department into the 21 century of law enforcement.Marlborough said he recently applied for a $8,500 technology grant from the state Association of Sheriff and Police Chiefs and should know if he’s successful in the next month or so.If the town gets the money, Marlborough said it will be used to buy laptop computers for the three patrol cars.In addition, a local resident recently donated about $4,200 to the department for a tamper-proof video camera that will be mounted in a patrol car. InterWest Bank also donated $1,000 and is spearheading a campaign to raise money to buy video cameras for the other two cars.According to Marlborough, both the video cameras and the computers are standard equipment in most departments across the state. He said such tools help make officers more efficient and more accountable.There’s a ton of different things they can be used for, he said.With computers in their cars, the deputy marshals can type their reports in the patrol cars. That means they can do the hours of paperwork they need to do while still maintaining a police presence in the community.Local law enforcement leaders are also working with I-COM, the county-wide enhanced 911 dispatch center, to send out information in a way that officers can access records in patrol car computers.If that happens, Marlborough said that an officer would be able to look at a person’s criminal record or complaint history, or even look up maps, all on a police car computer. A video camera mounted in a car, on the other hand, can provide a useful record of events. The camera is automatically activated when the officer turns on the emergency lights, or it can be manually started. Video camera equipment for law enforcement is tamper-proof and includes read-outs for time, date and even speeds. “