Should an officer recover stolen property he can enter the serial number of the item to locate the rightful owner. Gun registrations also can be retrieved via the MDTs. TLETs forms the physical connections between local police departments and the databases. When an officer types a request it travels to an MDT controller, to a network control processor, to a front end computer, which then routes the request to the proper database. Mobile data terminals are also used for informal messages between officers and for sensitive information that may be easily eavesdropped over voice channels.
Officers can arrange to meet with each other or discuss a case without tying up the dispatcher.
MDTs are used to protect victim's identities or other details of a crime from being overheard by radio monitors outside the police force. The short burst of data allows a large number of units to be on the same channel. The North Richland Hills Police Department is currently using twenty-two terminals. Up to 100 may be used with their current hardware. As you might expect much planning goes into designing an MDT system.