7.3. SR 03-15-2010c~~ ar
V
Police Department
MEMORANDUM
item 7T3.
The police department is compelled to make a major software change in terms of our
records management provider. In addition, the fire department has the chance to take part i~
this newly proposed countywide dispatch and records management system as well. The
good news is this software change should not cost the City anything; in fact, it will save us a
great deal of expense each year irl terms of annual maintenance costs. It will also provide our
frre department with a CAD ~Com~uterAided ~i.~atch} system and possible records
integration with other fire departments. I will discuss data conversion costs later in this
document that could impact our involvement. The fire department side though will have
some hurdles, as none of us were aware that this project was going to fast present itself, and
second, that it will encompass the fire service division. Because of this, the fire department
will need funding for computer hardware and related equipment in the future.
As you l~now, the police department changed ou~.• software provider to ou~.• current vendor in
April of 2007. That was a costly project, but one that has greatly improved the effectiveness
and efficiency of our agency. It is the same system that has brought accolades and awards to
our• department, for the paperless features and savings that the system has produced. That
vendor is LETG ~Law.~r~forceme~t Techr~olo~y Group}.
About that same time, the Sherburne County Sheriffs ~ff~ce also changed to a new records
system, which was provided by the ~'osrtro~ L'orporatro~r. In the later part of 2009, Sheriff
Brott and his staff decided that the d'os~tro~r project had not provided what they needed,
and they put out a request for proposals ~RFP} for a new records management system and a
CAD system. Both our department and the sheriffs office hoped that our provider, L.~7~G,
would come out on top, If the Sheriff s Qf~ce selected L~'~"G, our complete integration
would be very simple, and we would continue on here status quo.
when the RFP's were complete. LL"TG came in close, but a different company,
Prol'hoe~rxwas chosen as the new system for the Sheriff s Office. This new vendor
software has strong CAD capabilities, a very strong jail and civil section, and an intuitive and
web-based records management portal. The ~roPhoenrx system is almost identical to
L.,~'TG in functionality, with both systems being browser based, with end-user ability to
customize and adapt functions to best suit their own needs.
The Shexifps ~ff~ce provides records management software and mobile integration fox the
Becker and Big fake Police Departna.ents, with each agency sharing part of the costs and
annual maintenance for this shared system. we have been speaking for some time with the
Sheriff about system integration and interopexability with our system here. with 1'oslt~o~,
that would not have tal~en place, The Sheriff reassured me in this new process, that he would
not choose a system, that did not afford complete integration between oux two departments.
I have checked into the integration piece with L,~'T~ and this is what l have found. LEG
can provide a linl~ between d~~ol'hoetrlx ~.A.I) and our mobile computers so that calls arrive
on oux computer screens when they a~.•e given out, That does not happen now, The next
piece is more difficult, having the mobile computer linl~ the newly received call back to oux
records management system and start an incident within by dumping the call data received
who called, time they called, location of the call, phone numbers, names and call
description} into the incident report.
without that last linl~, officers would shill have to manually type in the data fox every call they
receive, over 22,000 calls a year something we are doing now}.There is no doubt, getting
the call information to a screen initially so officers do not have to drive and write when a call
is given out is really a great improvement. Having it link to an actual incident and avoiding
the manual entry would save us 1,833 hours of officer's time each year X22,000 call for
set~vice times five minutes to manually enter each call}.
The Shei`iff recognized this shortcoming, and through negotiations with 1'~tol~hoe~.rx and
via approval from the County Board, he has agreed to buy a complete xecotds management
system fox each police department in Sherburne County, including all software fox the
records side, plus the CAD and mobile operations. There would be no costs fox the City of
Ells River on the police side. He will also p~.•ovide the same services fox every fire
department in the county. It would include having oux current data in ~E'~"G being
converted over to the new RMS system, There is a significant hurdle with data conversion,
As of now, there is no cost estimate for conversion and most lil~ely we would absorb that
cost, if conversion is expensive, it may very well remove our involvement from this project
and leave us urith .LETS.
The savings would occux• for us in terms of annual maintenance costs. we currently pay
LETG $34,000 a year fox annual maintenance. I'~ol'hoe~zlx would charge us ~ ~ 4,000 a yeat•.
LETS has already been paid fox 2010, but starting in 201 ~ we will see a ~.•eduction of
X20,000 a year, saving $100,000 over five years herein Elk River. we also gain the ability to
have all calls create an incident in our RMS system, saving all the patrol entry hours.
More important, this is designed as a shared records system. Through a joint powers
agreement, all law enforcement agencies in Sherburne County will be able to see their
incident and name data through shared viewing rights. This will save a great deal of time, as
currently when performing records checks and criminal investigations, we have to call these
local agencies to have them checl~ their files and get back to us. lnteropexable systems like
this axe the standard across America. we now have the opportunity to be part of a valuable
system, with no cost incurred here to become part of this interoperability.
Although our current system is just three years old, and a significant investment, it would be
iu advised forme to not recommend to the Council, that we join this county-wide system
and take full advantage of the Sheriffs offer to fund this project.
Having said that, there are st.~, two hurdles to full implementation that must be ~rnentioned.
First, l~rol'hoe~rx has not yet done an install or implementation in Minnesota. Their
experience is in eastern coastal cities and'~Iisconsin. Having said that, I have assured our
staff and have told the Sheriff, that I will not abandon our current RMS provider and
change, until 1'rol'hoe~rx is both functional, and fully integrated with all of our requiL•ed
interfaces. ~E-citations to the courts. Motor vehicle queries, National Crirnlnal History
integration and so on.}
In addition to those interfaces, we need an established communication linl~ between our
facility and the government center. Our IT staff prefers a fiber connection one that we
own, but the County is proposing either leasing fiber or a point-to-point wireless
connection. The costs associated with this are still unl~nown, but it appears that if the
County chooses leased or wireless, that they will absorb this cost
I don't want to jump ship unless we l~now the new provider has shaken out the bugs and
worl~ed out all the fixes.
The second hurdle is on the fire side, and although this system is fully capable of handling all
of theif.• needs, no one had budgeted or was prepared for this generous offer by the Sheriff.
As a result, they lacl~ the computers, doclti.ng stations, and air cards to have the system work
in their ~.•ucks. ~Iithout that hardwa~.•e, they have no real connection to anything except from
desl~tops back at the station. Chief Cunningham will be at the meeting tonight, to discuss not
the immediate funding, but what the needs are going to be in the near future for fire
integration to CAD and records. He has some concerns migrating from his current RMS
provider, Firehouse, to the new system, unless he too is assured that the full functionality
and integration are accomplished. There is a yearly maintenance fee for fire, which is roughly
X1,000, which the department currently budgets for the existing Firehouse software.
Our IT Department lead by Bob Pearson has reviewed this system, and they have given their
full support to moving forward with this integration.
I am not certain that any formal Council. action is needed for this project, other than a
consensus from the Council that they concur that this is an appropriate move for all
involved.
Chief Cunningham, Bob Pearson, and I will be happy to answer any questions that you may
have.
ProPhoenixSoftware Conversion
Project Information and Update
Monday, March 15, 2010
1
Sherburne County
Sheriff’s Office Dispatch
CURRENT process
Officers must record
or remember all of
the information from
the dispatcher that
is received over the
radio
All data must
Elk River Police Department
be manually
entered into
the ERPD
Records Management
computer
Mobile Application
System (RMS)
system
2
Sherburne County
Sheriff’s Office Dispatch
PROPOSED process
County Records
Management
Sheriff’s Office
Elk River Police Department
Becker
Records Management
Mobile Application
Big Lake
System (RMS)
3
Sherburne County
Sheriff’s Office Dispatch
Officers and Firefighters
receive all details over
CURRENT process
the radio for all fire
department responses.
There is currently no
remote computer access
in the vehicles or in the
fire stations to access
dispatch information.
ON-SCENE: RADIO ONLY
Completed every
Fax Received from SCSO Dispatch
1-2 weeks; time
upon completion of call
consuming
Manual Report Completed byReports and all incident data
Senior Officermanually inputted into computer
4
CAD &
Pre-Plans &GIS &
Dispatch
InspectionsMapping
Hazardous
Records
Materials
Management
PROPOSED process
Information
HistoricalRecords
DataManagement
Sherburne
Occupancy
Police &
Information
Fire
Personnel &Multi User/
TrainingComputer
Records
Mngt.Access
Management
5
Monitor and evaluate on-going deployment of
•
ProPhoenixsoftware in Sherburne County
Evaluate system capabilities and the needs of
•
the Fire Department
PRELIMINARY plan
Future transition from Firehouse software to
•
ProPhoenixfor records management (RMS)?
Evaluate mobile dispatch application
•
Prepare hardware deployment
plan to Council for future
consideration
Phase 1: Staff and Command Vehicles
•3 Vehicles @ $5,000: $15,000
Total Phase 1: $15,000
Annual Recurring: $1,620
Phase 2: Front Line Vehicles
•Engines 1, 2, 3 @ $5,000: $15,000
•Ladder 1 @ $5,000: $5,000
•Rescue 1 @ $5,000: $5,000
•Tanker 2 @ $5,000: $5,000 (primary mutual aid)
Total Phase 2: $30,000
Annual Recurring: $3,240
Phase 3: Utility / Support Vehicles
•Front Line Grass Rigs (2 @ $5,000): $10,000
Total Phase 3: $10,000
Annual Recurring: $1,080
Project Total: $55,000
Annual Recurring: $5,940
6