Records Management Systems. A “dirty word” in our agency for many, many years. Traditionally designed around the needs of management, records and data entry personnel, our experience with them has been what can only be described as a nightmare.
Our officers out of necessity, are required to do their own data entry and narratives, print and reprint drafts for supervisor review, and then muddle through a complicated series of commands to retrieve data when they need it.
We had tried numerous venders, all of which used catch phrases like “yeah, our software will do that”, “it’s really user friendly”, “just need to create a few shortcuts to get the info you need”…..and the list goes on. Constant complaints from officers about the RMS, incomplete data entry because of the time and structure involved in getting around in an RMS. No vender support without a huge fee associated any request for assistance. No vender availability for most problems at all. Hundreds, if not thousands of hours lost to report writing with no light at the end of the tunnel.
Our agency spent almost a year researching RMS venders throughout the State of California looking for software to increase efficiency and effectiveness. We were told by a number of RMS venders that their “off the shelf” software would work or that their software was far too costly for a small to midsize agency, or what we were asking for wasn’t realistic. We had heard all of the stories before.
We found the solutions to our problems. TracNet, a Police Records Management system has come to our rescue. The Company has been in existence for about 15 years. The company owners are cops, former cops, and employees with very close associations with the law enforcement community. Their records management system speaks for itself!! Twenty-four seven support for the software has been excellent. With a phone number on each work station, and a “call us day or night”, it can’t get much better. TracNet employees are never satisfied with their software and are constantly looking for methods to make it more functional.
The RMS, designed with the “beat cop” in mind, is extremely efficient and user friendly. Data need only be entered once as a rule, and flows to all the associated forms necessary for report completion. Hard copies are appropriately structured and easy to follow. All of the associated modules are integrated into one intelligent progression. Booking, Mug Photo, Property and Evidence and Traffic modules work seamlessly together. The system has the potential to be completely paperless.
From a management perspective, the analysis, data retrieval, UCR, and administrative functions are thorough and effortless. There isn’t enough room on this document, nor is there enough time to adequately describe the TracNet RMS. If you’re truly interested in a “quality records management system” and you’re skeptical about this article, you’re invited to visit my agency and talk with anyone you wish about TracNet. The most important selling point from a management perspective is simply that since our move to TracNet, I have not had a single complaint about or criticism of our RMS from our officers or staff.
Mark S. Morgan, Commander (Retired)
Contacts:
Edmundo Rodriguez |
Chief | 831-884-1235 |
erodriguez@ci.marina.ca.us |
|---|---|---|---|
Maria Esparza |
Records Supervisor | 831-884-1216 |
mesparza@ci.marina.ca.us |
Tom Maudlin |
Records |
831 884-1216 |
tmaudlin!@ci.marina.ca.us |
Marina Police Web Site