Summary In October 2007, the Police Department transitioned to a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management System (RMS), provided by USA Software. Over the years, there have been a number of concerns expressed with this software – continuous system “locking”, lack of system support from provider, poor functionality and compliance with FDLE security mandates. These problems have also been encountered by IT personnel, which prompted further discussions and inclusion of a new CAD and RMS into the City’s Capital Improvement Program.
Chief Scott tasked a group of department end users to research available alternatives in Public Safety Software systems. Contact was made with various vendors and three were selected to conduct on-site demonstrations – SmartCOP, Spillman Flex and Zuercher (CentralSquare). The review group ultimately selected Zuercher, as the system most conducive to the agency’s needs. Additionally, the Zuercher Suite, provided by Zuercher Technologies, is a CentralSquare Technologies company, which provides CAD and RMS for other law enforcement agencies within Alachua County.
Having the Zuercher Suite would permit our agency to engage in data-share with existing customers, such as the City of Gainesville and University of Florida, both of which are neighboring law enforcement agencies within our county. The City reached out to Inspector Jorge Campos of the Gainesville Police Department, and Ed Posey with the University Police Department, and confirmed that under the Zuercher Suite the Alachua Police Department would be able to date-share through the Community Data Platform and Police2 Police system tools. | | |