SIKESTON — The Sikeston Department of Public Safety will be getting a new dispatch system and records software.
At Monday’s Sikeston City Council meeting, Council unanimously approved the purchase of the new CAD (computer aided dispatch) and RMS (records management software).
CAD is a method of dispatching emergency services assisted by a computer that can either be used to send messages to emergency workers through a mobile data terminal and/or be used to store and retrieve data like radio logs, field interviews and schedules. The system can send text messages with call-for-service details to pagers or wireless services.
A RMS is an agency-wide system that provides for the storage, retrieval, retention, manipulation, archiving and viewing of information, records, documents or files that pertain to law enforcement operations.
Currently, Sikeston DPS uses CAPERS, a Chicago-based system, as their provider. Sikeston DPS Director James McMillen said there have been several issues since it was implemented in 2015 and also it is not compliant with a federal/state mandate for crime statistics reporting.
The new system uses OMNIGO, a St. Louis-based system, which is compliant and also provides for both over the phone service as well as quick on-site technical assistance if needed. OMNIGO also offers the ability to share files with other police agencies that are customers, which includes: Scott County Sheriff’s Department, Poplar Bluff Police Department, Dexter Police Department, Charleston DPS and the Mississippi County Sheriff’s Department.
“This type of file sharing is a valuable tool to have in the law enforcement community as we all routinely deal with the same offenders,” said McMillen.
The transition to OMNIGO is $56,412 for the first year and then approximately $51,912 a year for maintenance and upgrades. A data conversion, which will allow most of the records to be available in one program as opposed to maintaining multiple programs, will be $42,000. Of that cost, 50% will be paid up front and 50% at the completion of the conversion, which will take 6-8 months to complete.
With the OMNIGO transition and first half of the data conversion, the cost is $77,412. The money for the RMS and CAD is a budgeted item through the 911 systems budget and the cost is covered through the budget.
To pay for CAPERS, DPS would have had to pay approximately $80,868 in the current fiscal year to maintain the system, which includes a server maintenance fee as well as a system maintenance contract for October 2019 until October 2020 that was $50,000.
“This additional cost came out of the blue,” McMillen said about the $50,000 maintenance fee.