Laserfiche WebLink
<br />2 <br /> <br />Introduction: <br /> <br />In 1999, the police department requested an upgrade to their <br />computer system, which had been purchased in 1984, and a new <br />records management system and mobile computer system were <br />installed. A records management system (RMS) was purchased after <br />bids were let, and the RMS system installed was called "Vision" <br /> <br />Vision RMS is a records system based on a Microsoft Sequel, version 7, <br />data storage system, a common and reliable platform for data storage. <br />The RMS system is basically proprietary however in that the agency <br />can not make changes to the system, but can advocate changes as <br />part of a user group. This group however is nationally based, and <br />changes are often difficult to obtain. <br /> <br />Since 1999, software and hardware changes have been constant, and <br />unforeseen. The platform on which we built our RMS system alone has <br />changed from Windows NT, to Windows 2000 to Windows 2003. <br />Additional platform changes are right around the corner. Although our <br />RMS system operates efficiently and is unhampered by these changes, <br />it is but one small illustration of the vast infrastructure and system <br />enhancements that have taken place over the past seven years. <br /> <br />We are proposing replacing our system with a new RMS platform, that <br />addresses the needs of this agency for many years, and unlike the <br />Vision system, it is browser based or accessed through the world wide <br />web, so not only is access easier, but the department is not <br />responsible for maintaining as much of the operating platform, <br />insuring us that as future technological changes occur, we will not be <br />left behind. <br /> <br />Problem Identification: <br /> <br />We were inspired to look at a new system while pursuing an upgrade <br />to our current processes. We had approval from the Council to <br />implement a bar coding system for evidence tracking purposes. We <br />found that this integration was cumbersome and the end result would <br />be a bar coding system that albeit would code and track the evidence, <br />it would not be fully system integrated and thus the value was <br />minimal. One of the software systems offered however was a complete <br />integrated platform, which not only offered us the chance to see what <br />full integration does, it allowed us to see how little system integration <br />we actually had. <br />