Greendale Police Request New Record Management System

The 26 year old computerized record management system currently used by the is in desperate need of replacement, according to the department's new police chief, Robert Malasuk.

, explained his department's request at the budget work session on October 27.

Malasuk says the current record keeping system is antiquated, having been built in 1985, and is in danger of failiing, which would result in a loss of all the police department's computerized records.

At Malasuk's request, Village Manager Todd Michaels is including money in his recommended 2012 Greendale Village Budget for the purchase of a new ProPhoenix Record Management System. The system is estimated to cost around $200,000.

Malasuk explained the actual cost of the system would be higher, but that there is currently a $38,000 rebate available on it. In addition, the chief says he has applied and been approved for grants to partially fund the purchase. Part of the cost would involve the transfer of data from the current LINUX based system to the new Windows based system since the two are non-compatible.

Right now, Greendale is the only municipality in the area not using the proposed system. Malasuk explained that the new system would offer multiple benefits to the department and the community such as:

• The ability for the Greendale Police Department to communicate and share records directly with the other police departments, as well as the Milwaukee and Waukesha County jails. 
• The system would also be used by the police dispatch center and be linked to the .
• It would offer citizens various services such as going online to request services such as residential monitoring for vacations or the ability to keep on file information about medical conditions, etc that would aid officers when responding to emercency situations. 
• It would increase police officers' productivity by expediting the time currently spent on writing incident reports. Right now when there is an incident, a police officer spends roughly an hour at the station creating and filing the report, which takes them away from patrol time. The new system would generate a report based on information the officer enters into a computer while at the scene and would automatically be sent to the department.

Malasuk indicated the request for the new system is 'all about keeping Greendale and its citizens safe.'

After the chief's presentation, trustees and village administrators expressed their support for purchasing the new record management system.

Residents will have a chance to attend a public hearing on the proposed village budget on Monday, November 28. The board is expected to adopt the final budget at their meeting on December 6.