Dubuque (Iowa) Law Enforcement Touts New Time-Saving Software System
A new $1.3 million software system will allow local law enforcement to more easily share information, firefighters to bring up building plans as they respond to calls and volunteer fire crews to receive text messages about emergencies.
Eventually, arrest and incident reports also will be available online for public viewing, officials say.
The new system, SunGard ONESolution, replaces a system that was more than a decade old, according to Capt. Scott Crabill, of the Dubuque (Iowa) Police Department. The city of Dubuque paid $800,000 toward the system, while Dubuque County covered the remaining $500,000.
A chief benefit of the software will be the significant reduction of the number of handwritten reports for law enforcement, according to both Crabill and Capt. Dale Snyder, of the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Department.
Previously, Crabill said, officers would write up case reports by hand, and those reports would be scanned and retyped by records department staff. With the new software, officers and deputies in the field can use their laptops to submit base reports, which then are fed back to the Dubuque Law Enforcement Center and reviewed by a supervisor before being entered directly into records.
“It makes things more efficient,” Crabill said. “As officers become more adept, it will really become a time-saving tool.”
Snyder and Crabill said the departments also plan to provide copies of arrest and incident reports online for better public access. Crabill said the reports will carry the same basic information as the paper reports in the department lobby. They did not have an estimated time frame for when that might happen.
Snyder said the new software also includes services for police departments in Asbury, Peosta, Epworth and Farley. He said that will build a better database of people who have frequent contact with law enforcement agencies.
Snyder said the police departments in Cascade and Dyersville declined use of the program, but additional departments can join at any time.
Dubuque Fire Chief Rick Steines said the software allows basic information collected by 9-1-1 dispatchers during an emergency call to be filled into reports. The software also gives crews mobile access to plans for certain buildings to help them more effectively respond to emergencies.
Emergency Communications Center Manager Mark Murphy said the software allows area fire departments to receive text messages with basic information for paged emergency calls. He said there is no fee and the departments need only supply names and cell phone numbers for crew. He added that the software also will provide dispatchers with a map of available vehicles in an area, which should improve response time.