https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
  • Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Events
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • Magazine
    • Back
    • Digital Editions
    • Reprints & Reuse
    • Subscribe to GovPro
    • Manage GovPro Subscription
    • Advertise
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
acc.com


In-house system saves time, money

In-house system saves time, money

The Mobile (Ala.) Police Department's 10-year-old mainframe was becoming more and more unreliable, and downtime was increasing due to the scarcity of
  • Written by Nelson, Susan
  • 1st April 1996

The Mobile (Ala.) Police Department’s 10-year-old mainframe was becoming more and more unreliable, and downtime was increasing due to the scarcity of parts. Every tweaking of its ancient software cost a fortune in time and money. So when its annual maintenance contract reached $90,000, delaying the inevitable became too costly. It was time for a change.

The daunting challenge of overhauling this critical system fell on the shoulders of employees from the municipal information systems and police departments. Initially, the team set criteria for a new system. It had to retain all data currently in the system and integrate it with the municipal court computer system, it needed to use client/server system technology with an open-system architecture@ it had to be compatible with the communications used by the police department and be non-proprietary; it had to be based on the current database management system., and it had to employ graphical user interface (point and click) technology. Nothing short of a miracle would do.

After shopping for ready-made systems and finding them inadequate, the city team began developing a custom-made system in-house. After months of interviewing police department users, the system took shape.

The result was COMPIS, the City of Mobile Police Information System. Old data was converted to the Oracle database running on the city’s existing super mini-computer, and PowerBuilder, a windows-driven development package tool, handles the user interface. All the processing is done on the desktop PCs.

The software is maintained internally, and, although the system is capital-intensive because of its PC-base, the cost of maintenance is low. Repairs are done in-house, and non-proprietary parts are available through a multitude of vendors.

The software packages created within the COMPIS software include.

* AFIS, an automated fingerprint identification system, which is a joint project between the Mobile Police Department and the Mobile County Sheriffs Department to help police officers process information more quickly.

The Cray computer gives the system power and speed and has dramatically reduced time required to conduct a search for prints, purged duplicate prints within the system and tracked criminal alias identities. It is also building a regional database for solving unsolved crimes as well as present and future cases;

* Law on Disk, a program that allowsthe city legal department to save hours, of ten days per month, in the local law libraryby researching issues on-line using a software program designed to manage large amounts of information.

Alabama law and court cases providedon CD-ROM are updated monthly. Cityattorneys access the database from theirPCs. Two of the popular features are thekey word search and the scan with opticalcharacter reader capability; and

* GIS, which contains more than 100layers of maps that provide information tocity departments for manpower deployment,automated zoning application andenforcement purposes.

“In private industry, the big winners arethe people who are first in line to take risksand be innovative,” says Mayor MichaelDow. “Unfortunately, in government, our culture encourages us to wait and see how the innovators are doing before we implement anything. Risk-taking is not encouraged, failure is punished and controls implement posed to prevent waste, fraud and abuse have sometimes stymied innovation. But, as public managers, we can not let these barriers keep us from progressing.”

For more information, send requests via fax to 334-434-7548 or via e-mail to susan mis.ci.mobile.al.us.

Tags:

Related


  • COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020?
    As we continue to navigate 2021, many issues will require continued tech leadership and support to carry everyone through
  • Six tips for making sure your dispatch is doing all the right moves
    Planning, design, construction, maintenance and waste disposal are a few aspects public works departments deal with daily. It seems like a great deal of specialized work and reporting because it absolutely is. And all of it routed through a dispatch center. Without the right tools in place, a dispatcher cannot keep things running smoothly. Nor […]
  • New pandemic recovery tools for public transit
    While much of the nation has been locked down for nearly a year, essential workers across the country have kept the fundamental aspects of society functioning despite the risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Mass transportation agencies and operators have been at the forefront of this effort remaining committed to transporting critical personnel that depend […]
  • Artificial cities could pave the way to driverless adoption
    Connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) have a future. That is without doubt but there is still a need to ensure that they will be safe on our highways and to ease the public’s safety concerns to increase their adoption over the next few years. CAVs need to be able to react to unforeseen events – […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • Local governments in Texas respond to cold snap, power grid failure
  • Online sales tax collections proving essential for many state and local governments during COVID-19
  • Pennsylvania county will light up its buildings with hydro-electric power
  • Hi-tech sewers can help safeguard public health, environment and economies

White papers


Discover How Public Sector Officials are Monitoring and Managing Overtime in This New White Paper

22nd February 2021

How to Assemble a Successful Government Grant Proposal

5th February 2021

The Rise of Procurement’s Next Normal

5th February 2021
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

COVID-19 and pivoting into a new year: It may be 2021, but did we really leave 2020? dlvr.it/RtQRcr

24th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Six tips for making sure your dispatch is doing all the right moves dlvr.it/RtQBvl

24th February 2021
AmerCityCounty

New pandemic recovery tools for public transit dlvr.it/RtLJ61

23rd February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Artificial cities could pave the way to driverless adoption dlvr.it/RtJGZZ

23rd February 2021
AmerCityCounty

How city leaders can develop, manage and maintain strategic partnerships dlvr.it/RtGGYy

22nd February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Baltimore will distribute recycling carts to residents to encourage recycling dlvr.it/RtGB6n

22nd February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Buffalo, N.Y.’s 48 hours to navigate a mission-critical transition to remote work dlvr.it/RtG8YL

22nd February 2021
AmerCityCounty

Discover How Public Sector Officials are Monitoring and Managing Overtime in This New White Paper dlvr.it/RtFR6f

22nd February 2021

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X