LETG

The Law Enforcement Technology Group, LLC (LETG) congratulates and recognizes the Elk River Police Department on its international award for Innovation in Information Technology presented by the International Chiefs of Police Association’s (IACP).

This highly competitive award was considered against numerous submissions to the IACP’s Technology Coordination Panel from across the globe. Last week, the IACP notified the Elk River Police Department about their selection. The announcement letter stated, “After an exhaustive and highly competitive review of applications submitted from around the world, your agency was identified as the best in the appropriate category. Your agency is among a very distinguished group of winners.”

Annually, the IACP makes it s priority to recognize law enforcement agencies and their private sector partners for advances in technology that offer innovative solutions to existing problems.

This year, the Elk River Police Department submitted their Paperless Implementation Project for the IACP’s consideration. In 2007, the Elk River Police Department contracted with LETG to create a paperless environment for field-based reporting and records management system services. LETG deployed its highly innovative browserbased RMS application and its comprehensive Field-Based Reporting program to assist Elk River with their technology-related needs and requirements. This fully integrated system allowed the Elk River Police Department greater efficiencies and effectiveness in their service delivery and has created cost savings throughout the department.

In his executive summary, Chief Jeff Beahen, of the Elk River Police Department, wrote the following:

In 2007, the Elk River Police Department implemented a new records management process through Law Enforcement Technology Group. This web based product provided a complete paperless records system, starting in the squad car, leading to clerical verification, and then to case management and bar coded evidence handling. It resolved a three month backlog of data and records entry, allowed officers to enter and complete ICR’s from the car as well as gave them the ability to access all records and case files from their MDC. It also provided the direct entry of traffic citations to the local and state court systems, automated state and federal reporting as well as being one of the first CIBRS ready systems installed in Minnesota. The implementation removed numerous areas of redundant data entry not only locally, but at the county and state levels as well. Just in Elk River alone it reduced the staff time needed to maintain our records system by 2.5 FTE’s. It also resulted in real time records and data entry, with no delay in records processing while allowing all staff to view incident reports as they occur.

The paperless implementation reduced the office supply costs for the agency by $15,000 a year, as paper case files, color coded file tabs and filing spaces were eliminated. Case files can be sent easily by our records staff to prosecutors and other agencies in PDF format in seconds. The system includes an electronic roll call format that enhances communication between line staff, administration and investigations, by allowing all staff to view relevant data on the records system’s “home” screen.

The system includes the ability to print traffic citations, accident reports and tow reports in the squad car. All of these reports link automatically to the original case file or incident, further reducing clerical time previously used to assemble all of these reports in one primary file. Officers also have full access to State and National databases.