Public safety agencies across Wyoming that use Spillman Technologies’ software solutions gained access to three new products after a statewide purchase proposed by the Wyoming Association of Sheriffs and Chiefs of Police (WASCOP). Agencies will streamline data entry processes using Spillman’s Report Beam Crash and XML Citations interfaces, while also increasing data-sharing capabilities through Spillman’s InSight data sharing module.
The governing board of WASCOP elected to make the statewide purchase after reviewing a proposal created by Spillman to improve collaboration and efficiency among current Spillman customers. The board will fund the initial installation and first-year costs while providing each agency with the individual product licenses. The agencies will then be responsible for maintenance fees on the three products after the first year.
The InSight module will benefit Wyoming public safety agencies by allowing them to share data across jurisdictional lines. Information entered by one agency into the InSight product syncs to other agencies’ databases in real time, increasing agency productivity while also strengthening alliances within the region. Uinta County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch Supervisor and Spillman System Administrator Chris Lamb also highlighted increased officer safety as an advantage of statewide Insight usage.
“I think it’s great,” Lamb said. “I know not every agency in the state is using Spillman, but I think more and more are starting to work toward that. I think it’s great that we can connect and be able to share information because, especially in a more rural state like ours, being able to have that information from other agencies at our fingertips is certainly beneficial for officer safety.”
Lt. Rick Hooper of the Rawlins Police Department explained that multi-jurisdictional data sharing through InSight is beneficial in Wyoming because personnel in different agencies often see the same criminals committing the same crimes in multiple jurisdictions. The lieutenant gave an example of using InSight while dealing with an individual who had turned up in multiple areas around the state.
“We found that, looking in the InSight database, we could see his history and reports of dealing with him in other jurisdictions,” Hooper said. “Now I’ve tracked him through three different cities doing essentially the same things in each jurisdiction. It helps out when you go to meet this individual for the first time… maybe it’s not an instance where I’m going to let him off with a warning. No, this time I’m going to take action.”
In addition to the InSight module, the purchased Report Beam Crash and XML Citations interfaces will help agencies throughout the state efficiently maintain accurate records in their Spillman databases, while also complying with state-mandated reporting procedures. Using the two Spillman interfaces, accident and citation data entered into the Report Beam Crash and XML Citations platforms can be transferred seamlessly into the reporting agency’s Spillman system.
Lamb explained that the addition of the two interfaces will increase efficiency by eliminating the need to manually enter the same information into multiple databases. “It will cut down on our patrol guys’ time in the office,” Lamb said. “With the way the state has us report through Report Beam, they were actually having to enter data twice.”
Previously, Uinta County personnel needed to enter their reports into the Report Beam platform and the Spillman database separately, Lamb said. Utilizing the two interfaces will allow the agency to efficiently maintain accurate and accessible records in their own database while also providing the state with required information.
“It will be a great help for us to keep all of that information locally and not actually have to go back out to the state to find the data again,” she said.
Wyoming boasts 37 public safety agencies using Spillman systems, with 35 using the on-premises product, Flex, and two using the web-based product, Nova. The state also includes several of Spillman’s most long-standing customer relationships, including those with Hot Springs County Sheriff’s Office, Thermopolis Police Department, and Uinta County Sheriff’s Office. Each of these agencies will celebrate 30-year anniversaries with the company before the end of 2015.
Spillman Technologies serves more than 1,500 sheriff’s offices, police departments, fire departments, communication centers, and correctional facilities nationwide. Spillman specializes in integrated on-premises and cloud software solutions, including Computer-Aided Dispatch, Records Management Systems, Mobile Data & Field Reporting, Mapping & GIS, Jail Management Systems, Fire, Data Sharing, Personnel & Resources, and Analytics & Intelligence-Led Policing. For more information about Spillman, visit www.spillman.com.