Steve Senkle, Information Systems Manager, City of Claremont, CA

As a former Claremont Police Officer, I remember what a hassle it used to be to get ahold of police records. There was always a long line of people at the counter in the records department, and it would take considerable time to pull and photocopy the original reports. More often than not, we’d then have to fax the report to someone, and because some of the reports were 100 or more pages long, that process took a lot of time.

In 1998, we started scanning our crime reports, traffic accident reports and field interview cards into Laserfiche. We chose Laserfiche primarily because of its powerful search capabilities and because of how easy it is to get documents into the repository and organize them once they’re there. We also knew we’d be able to use Laserfiche in tandem with our other software applications, including our police department’s CAD-RMS.

WebLink plays a key role in our integration between Laserfiche and our CAD-RMS. Once staff locates the relevant case file in the RMS, WebLink lets them easily view scanned documents, photographs and other items associated with that file. We like the fact that WebLink is highly flexible and platform independent, which made the integration process easier. And our staff definitely appreciates the fact that they can access documents instantly, without having to trek to the records room.

Along with apprehending people who’ve committed crimes, police officers have a duty to prevent crime from happening. We saw an excellent opportunity to use Laserfiche as part of this effort too. We installed a third-party crime analytics tool called CrimeView Web®, which uses GIS technology and the information in our RMS to generate maps of the city showing where burglaries, assaults, auto thefts and other crimes occur. To access more detailed information about these crimes, staff can pull up documents stored in Laserfiche by simply selecting a visual marker on the map or clicking a case number. This instant access to information helps officers identify patterns, which in turn helps them to better use available resources—such as regular police patrols at certain times of the day—to cut the crime rate. It also means that they’re better prepared, and therefore safer, when they hit the streets.

We’re very happy with what we’ve been able to accomplish using Laserfiche. I attend the yearly Laserfiche Institute Conference, where I talk with IT staff from other municipalities who are considering the types of integrations we’ve done in Claremont. I’ve also worked with other municipalities to help them set up their Laserfiche systems. I’d be happy to contribute some of our code to the Code Library, which I see as another way of helping IT staff at different organizations learn from each other and share the work they’ve done.

To see Laserfiche document management in action, attend our free law enforcement webinar on Wednesday, July 2. However, attendance is limited, so reserve your spot today. We’ll discuss real issues and show real solutions that fit police departments of all sizes, in all locations.

Posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 pm under Law Enforcement. You can comment on this article. trackback from your own site.