The Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind is a state public school located in the national historic city of St. Augustine, Florida, which is available at no cost to parents and students. We serve eligible students from across the state that are deaf/hard of hearing, or blind/visually impaired. Our school maintains full accreditation, and we provide pre-kindergarten through 12th grade children with various opportunities for independence, growth and learning.  Our law enforcement officers have the ability to learn and use sign language skills.

 

The Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind Campus Police Department operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week providing services on campus directly to the school community, which includes but is not limited to law enforcement, security, investigative, access control, communications, emergency management, fingerprinting, evidence/property management, records management, School Resource Officer, crime prevention, parking/traffic enforcement, video camera surveillance and public relations.

 

The Department employs a total of 18 employees; 10 sworn law enforcement officers (including the Police Chief) and 8 non-sworn support staff. The campus community we serve is approximately 600 students and 600 staff situated on 70 acres.

 

Jerry Chandlee has been serving as our Police Chief since March 2005.  Under his leadership we have received national recognition and were presented the “2010 Individual School Safety Award” by the School Safety Advocacy Council at the 2010 National School Safety Conference in Orlando, Florida.  Chief Chandlee was also instrumental in assisting the Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind in receiving national recognition and was recently presented the “2012 National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Program Award” by the School Safety Advocacy Council at the 2012 National Conference on Bullying in Orlando, Florida.

 

In the spring of 2010 the police department began looking for police records software to fit their needs; “We decided we wanted to upgrade to browser-based records management software and computer aided dispatch software Systems.  We needed systems with more features and flexibility.  We are confident we found those systems with the eFORCE® Records Management Software and Computer Aided Dispatch Software. We enjoy using eFORCE® public safety software because it is simple to use, we can log on to it from any computer location with internet access and it produces valuable analysis reports. ”

The Edgewood Police Department provides community oriented based policing to approximately2,500 residents with a total land area of approximately 2 square miles.  The agency has 12 full-time officers and provides 24/7 full law enforcement services to their citizens.  The City of Edgewood is located approximately 2 miles south of downtown Orlando and is bordered by the City of Orlando to the north, City of Belle Isle to the south, and unincorporated Orange County to the west and east, coincidentally the area in unincorporated Orange County is one of the highest calls for service areas in their jurisdiction.  State Route 527 (Orange Avenue) passes directly through the City bringing with it an average of more than 43,000 vehicles per day.  The City contracts with the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office for dispatching services.

Sergeant Jackson and Scott realized that finding the right Records Management Software for their agency was the key to their future success.  They approached the project of finding a new RMS, realizing that whatever motion they put in place and started with would most likely continue well beyond their years with the agency.  Several requirements were put into place by both Sergeant Jackson and Scott.  Sergeant Jackson has served the Edgewood Police Department for 23 years, during that time he has become responsible for UCR reporting and all aspects of data and report generation for the EPD and City reporting needs.  The old RMS system had limitations, but thanks to its open architecture, Sergeant Jackson was able to utilize Microsoft Excel to harvest the needed data and generate reports even though it was time-consuming.

By virtue of the past, their vision for the future required a robust reporting package as the top requirement.  Beyond that, easy of data entry, report generation, and training were many items on Sergeant Jackson’s laundry list.  As IT Manager, Scott had several other requirements.  Having spent many years in the hospitality industry and software industry, he realized that “software as a service” was the trend of the future.  The City was not interested in hosting yet another server and managing the configuration issues and constant maintenance headache coupled with security issues.

As Sergeant Jackson and Scott proceeded through the maze and minefield of the Records Management Software selection process they began to compile their list of qualified candidates. eFORCE® made it to the short list.  As the selection process continued, the detailed list of wants and needs continued to evolve.  “We were very impressed with the eFORCE® team, there didn’t seem to be topics they shied away from.  They were able to manage all of our requests and find a proper solution to keep their RMS product at the top of our short list.” said Sgt. Jackson.

“Picking eFORCE® Public Safety Software as our final choice was easy” said Scott.  “The team at eFORCE® worked very hard to earn our business and draft a proper plan of attack for implementing our requests and managing our expectations.”     One of the key factors in selecting eFORCE® as the final choice was that eFORCE® committed to developing an integration to Orange County (Florida)Corrections ICJIS system which houses all the arrest/charging affidavit information that the officers use when making an arrest. 

In July 2010, the Edgewood Police Department went live with eFORCE® in a hosted solution.  Training took place at their office and it was immediately pressed into use.  Officers and administrative staff had very positive feedback and very few problems getting adjusted to the system.  In October 2010, the eFORCE® staff turned on the interface to the Orange County (Florida) ICJIS system and it was successful.  In January 2011, the Edgewood Police Department went live with Florida TraCS for crash reporting.  The team at eFORCE® created an interface for TraCS to upload crash data into eFORCE® eliminating the need for re-entry by support staff. 

“To date eFORCE® has been a pleasure to work with.  Their can-do attitude is a very welcome addition and the efficiencies gained by elimination of re-keying data is paramount” says, Scott.  But don’t think they are done yet, Sergeant. Jackson and Scott continue to look towards the future and envision how best to leverage their software to maximize their return and the team at eFORCE® will be ready to respond.

If you’d like to contact Sergeant Jackson or Scott they can be reached via email at vjackson@edgewood-fl.gov or szane@edgewood-fl.gov.

Fresh air, wide open spaces, grazing livestock, and friendly people reside in Payette County.  A place you can enjoy hunting and fishing along the river.  Travel on Highway 95 to Payette City, which is the gateway to Hells Canyon recreation area, to participate in local events i.e. Cruz Night and the Apple Blossom.  Payette City is located at the confluence of the Payette and Snake River in Idaho near the Oregon border.

 

A rural community with dedicated men and women in law enforcement ready to protect and serve approximately 23,000 residents.  Payette City employs 12 certified officers and 2 civilian employees.  Payette County Sheriff’s Office employs 17 certified officers, 8 dispatchers, 12 detention officers, and 6 civilian employees.

 

Payette County Sheriff’s Office and Payette Police Department value the benefits of working together to achieve common goals.  Joint efforts to enforce the law, respond to emergencies, provide public assistance, and minimize operational costs are evident in Payette County.  This is demonstrated by a dispatch center servicing multiple law enforcement jurisdictions and other first responders, a detention facility, and a drug task force team represented by three counties and their incorporated cities.

 

A critical member of our team is eFORCE® public safety software.  Payette County utilizes all the eFORCE® system-wide management tools:  Computer Aided Dispatch, Records Management Software, Jail Management Software, Civil Process, and Mug Shots.  Success is easily measured by the unique technology to share multi-agency information with a simple “touch of a button” and flexibility to access the system remotely.  eFORCE® has provided our departments with excellent customer service.  They are timely in assisting with any technical problems and welcomes requests for agency customization.  Although change is difficult, upgrading to eFORCE® was relatively smooth.  The continuous dedication for system reliability, user-friendly platform, and keeping costs down to a minimum is greatly appreciated.  We value the eFORCE® support team, which cannot be measured by any other.

Lincoln County is a rural county located on the western border of Wyoming.  There are approximately 17,000 residents that spread over 4,180 square miles.  There are two population centers located 100 miles apart, the Star Valley area and the Kemmerer area, with the jail and main Sheriff’s Office is located on the county seat of Kemmerer.  Both Kemmerer and Star Valley have dispatch centers that operate 24/7.

Lincoln County provides dispatch services for all police departments, fire departments, EMS services and all other first responders in the county. Lincoln County is a main thoroughfare to Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Lincoln County currently uses eFORCE® Computer Aided Dispatch, Records Management Software, Jail Management Software, and Civil Process products. The ease of use and customer service are excellent. The time spent training new employees on our software has been cut drastically. The ability to handle most administrative functions internally have also been beneficial. eFORCE® is always looking to improve on what they already have as well as bring new products that help in our everyday operations.