The Victoria County Commissioners Court will consider improving the computer software the sheriff’s office uses during Monday’s meeting.
Victoria County Judge Ben Zeller said Friday that by updating the software for the sheriff’s office, it will allow that office to function more seamlessly. This process would occur over a period of several months, Zeller said.
“This is the best software to go with the office and the jail,” Zeller said. “It’s a critical piece of the overall operation.”
With about 200 employees, Zeller said that the office needs the improvement. The problem is that when the county attempted to upgrade the existing system, it was loathe to take input, Zeller said. The county will discuss the cost at the 10 a.m. courthouse meeting at 115 N. Bridge Street, room 241.
Victoria County would enter into a contract with ProPhoenix public safety software, which is an on-premise and cloud-based fully integrated system including CAD, mobile, law RMS, fire RMS, corrections management, EMS, professional standards tracking, and citizen services. Victoria County is scheduled to enter into an agreement for the county sheriff records and jail management system.
The start-up cost would be about $700,000, with annual fees running about $122,000. The system currently in use by Victoria County costs about $50,000 annually.
ProPhoenix is located in Moorestown, New Jersey. They offer entirely integrated software packages, meaning that entries don’t have to be duplicated. The browser based, mobile and cloud ready technology eliminates the risk of local hardware failure, and features new interfaces such as ESRI, RapidSOS and Text2Dispatch. The intuitive software provides the information that is needed when needed, from quickly entering information to mobile to analysis.
When Sheriff Justin Marr ran for his office, he told voters that he wanted to make the criminal justice system better able to communicate with different offices, such as the district attorney’s office or the court system. Chief Deputy Will Franklin said he expected the system to be up and operating within 90 days, though training of staff may take longer.
“We’ve had the current system since 2012, and it’s just become antiquated,” Franklin said. “We’re going forward in the sheriff’s office, and this is the strategic plan for that future.”
The difference between the new system and the old is that everything will be under one umbrella, Franklin said. With the old system, different parts of the system had difficulty passing information along.
“We should have no information lost,” Franklin said.
Zeller said this step should fix a problem that has hindered the sheriff’s office in recent times.
“We see this as a huge step forward to modernizing things for the sheriff’s office,” Zeller said. “This is another step in the right direction, and I think it is overdue.”
A long-time journalist, George likes 60s musclecars and firearms.