(The Center Square) – The Shreveport Police hope to introduce a new system soon that has been in the works for around six months. Police Chief Wayne Smith said it should help with the ongoing issues in the Highland area and other places around the city.
Over the last six months, the Shreveport Police Department has been undergoing a computer technology vendor switch. Their new vendor, Tyler Technology, plans to reshape how the department tracks suspicious activity.
“When that module comes out, we feel confident that we’ll be able to give Property Standards access to it, the fire department access it, so all of us really will be able to communicate on things where there’s suspicious activities,” said Smith.
Right now, when an officer sees suspicious activity, they fill out a field interview card. This process is all digital, unlike previously, when officers had to fill out a physical card, and it was inputted into the system.
A module with 24/7 access will be available after the switch to search for any individual’s name. If the individual in question has already been documented for suspicious activity, they will appear in the new database.
The FI card will provide a detailed encounter of where the officer saw the suspect, what the suspect was doing, and any other information helpful to other officers in the department. Police officers will have access to this technology straight from their smartphones to submit entries.
According to Smith, Tyler Technology offers more innovative options on things they’ll be able to do.
The new technology will also allow anyone with access to search a specific block, so even if a suspect didn’t give a last name or maybe provided a fake name, they can still look up people based on location of activity.
The Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Department is reportedly heading in the same direction, which will make communication between the two departments smoother and lessens the chance of duplicate entries in the system.
