NCJ Number
191955
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 28 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2001 Pages: 94-101
Date Published
October 2001
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article describes how one police department acquires and obtains funding for new technology.
Abstract
The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, Police Department has 62 employees, including 44 sworn officers, and serves a community of approximately 20,000. But this rather small department has some big technology. The department established extensive showcase agreements in which they worked with vendors to demonstrate and help design new products. Local government officials endorse the idea of automation and effectiveness and the city's involvement in being part of that solution. To get funding for technology, the department looks for grants in addition to working with vendors. While funding and a political body that supports technology upgrades are important, there is a third and equally important element--the people who will use the technology. New software is geared toward the people who are less comfortable with computers, and computer "gurus" become trainers. The department has achieved about three-fourths of its goal to create a mobile data environment. It is still working to acquire the capability to generate in-field reports and to use voice recognition technology.