Posted: Dec 10, 2013 6:19 PM MST
Updated: Dec 10, 2013 6:43 PM MST
By Adam Wright - bio | email
ORANGE COUNTY -
"It's glitchy, it's slow, it locks up, it freezes."
That's how Orange County Chief Deputy Clint Hodgkinson describes the current software system used by the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
"It's just been a frustrating process," he told 12News Tuesday.
Hodgkinson says for about the past 5 years, the Sheriff's Office has not been satisfied with the services provided by their software provider, Indico.
So, the Sheriff's Office has decided to part ways.
Monday county commissioners approved a plan by Sheriff Keith Merritt to enter an agreement with Spillman Technologies, a software provider Hodgkinson believes will better meet the department's needs.
"It's kind of like going from almost Stone Age to current day, that's the way we look at it because it's so basic what we have now," Hodgkinson said.
Hodgkinson says the current software provides no mobile capabilities. Under the current system, each deputy has to return to the station to fill out a report, but once the new system is implemented, they'll be able to file reports from the field, meaning less time in the office and more time in the community.
Hodgkinson says the new software should help cut down on fuel costs and response time by adding GPS displays in each patrol car that would showing where other deputies are located at all times.
"Having that display in the car on either a tablet or a mobile device... you can see 'Ok I know that unit, he's about 10 miles from me, and I'm actually closer to that call than he is'," Hodgkinson explained.
The new system will cost the same amount to maintain as the current system, $33,450 per month, which is money already in the budget.
It will cost nearly $1.1 million to install, but the good news is that it won't cost taxpayers a dime... the funding will come from federal forfeitures (money seized in Orange County drug busts).
The new software is expected be ready to use by the end of 2014.
http://www.12newsnow.com/story/24187584/orange-county-sheriffs-office