In an effort to increase efficiency, the Iredell County (N.C.) Sheriff’s Office is adopting software from Spillman Technologies.
Spillman’s Mobile solution will allow officers to access their agency’s database, search for information from state and national databases, and receive information about calls – all from their vehicle laptops.
“… This is going to be a gas-saving measure that will benefit all the tax-paying citizens of this county,” said Capt. Marty Byers of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.
Using Spillman’s Voiceless Dispatch module, officers will be able to see active CAD calls and access related details about the incident, premises, and contacts.
“This system will allow the patrol officer, fireman, EMS, or rescue personnel to view real-time information, making their jobs much safer,” Byers said. “With Spillman, I feel that the citizens of Iredell County are going to be better served.”
Iredell County has a population of approximately 150,000 and is home to Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in North Carolina. The sheriff’s office is scheduled to go live with its Spillman system this month. It is one of seven agencies in North Carolina and more than 750 agencies across the nation using Spillman software.
The county used reallocated funds from its budget as well as money from seized funds and the jail commissary to purchase Spillman software.
“During these times of economic problems, not only do businesses and citizens have trouble making ends meet, government does as well,” said Iredell County Sheriff Phillip H. Redmond. “By using the seized funds, we were able to save the taxpayers of Iredell County tax dollars to upgrade our technology.”
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office will also use software from Spillman’s Records Management, Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD), Corrections Management, Fire/EMS Management and Resource Management solutions.
Byers said Spillman software will help the sheriff’s office meet many of its current challenges. For example, using Spillman’s Personnel Management module, users will be able to easily store and retrieve detailed employee information. In an emergency situation, dispatchers can quickly see which employees have needed skills like foreign language fluency or explosives expertise.
Using Spillman’s Inventory Management module, the agency will be able to conveniently access the history of purchase orders and retrieve each supplier’s contact information.
“Spillman is going to be a great asset to us in keeping up with personnel issues and inventory,” Byers said.
The sheriff’s office is also responsible for overseeing the Iredell County Detention Center. The center can house up to 230 inmates and is approved to house inmates charged with crimes ranging from misdemeanors to homicides. Using Spillman’s Jail Records module, officers can use customizable assessments to determine whether each inmate should be placed in minimum security or under intensive supervision.
Byers said that Spillman’s focus on exclusively developing public safety software was one of the reasons the sheriff’s office chose the vendor. Unlike many other industry software vendors, Spillman is able to devote 100 percent of its resources to serving public safety agencies.
“While looking at other vendors, what impressed me the most is that Spillman only works with public safety agencies,” he said.