As society evolves, first responders are constantly being asked to do more—often with less. Police are asked to meet new demands but face several challenges along the way, such as enabling officers to transition seamlessly from the desk to the field while maintaining connection and access to vital records, gathering more comprehensive and detailed reporting, and obtaining situational awareness in formerly quiet communities where crime rates have started to increase.

This all creates a plethora of data, which need to be stored and organized so that processing, retrieving, and sharing can take place.

A records management system (RMS) can help. From the records clerk in the office to the officer in a patrol car to the crime analyst searching for patterns in recent burglaries, RMS technology follows the entire lifespan of crime data. These platforms can ingest, store, and organize data, helping to relieve the workload of police personnel.

Finding the Right Fit

Although various companies offer RMS suites, choosing the technology that is designed to support an agency’s needs is essential to their success.

A customizable interface, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) integration, and data security are important features to consider when searching for a new RMS, but cloud computing and built-in analytics have revolutionized the technology.¹

As the public continues to integrate technology into everyday life, data will continue to flow in vast amounts.

If an intuitive interface and customizable features are most important for an agency, CODY Systems (CODY) has invested nearly four decades to provide easier features for the end user.

CODY, a woman-owned company based in the United States, has been in the public safety software space for over 44 years. During that time, CODY has served more than 800 agencies in 18 states. Maggie Riker, the vice president of sales and marketing, says, “Throughout these decades, we have witnessed and adapted to the evolving landscape of law enforcement technology, continually enhancing our software to meet new demands and challenges.”² CODY has partnered with various customer agencies to ensure that the solution not only meets but exceeds their demands in terms of ease of workflow and usability.

The culmination of the company’s work with policing professionals is represented in the next generation, cloud-based Pathfinder RMS. Built with responsiveness and adaptability in mind, the platform can be accessed on any device, ensuring seamless operation across various environments. By investing so much time and effort in ease of data entry and searchability, the Pathfinder RMS developers ensure that the information a user is looking for is never more than a click away.

Pathfinder RMS allows agencies to tailor workflows to their specific needs, enabling them to change field label names, add fields per section, and configure processes for optimal efficiency. Each user who logs in to the application can define their own dashboard with widgets to maximize productivity. Users can also create automatic alerts and notices related to people, organizations, vehicles, and more. If an alert has been placed, the individual searching within the RMS will be updated with specific data on the subject.

“We believe the public safety market is eager for an innovative, forward-thinking approach to the traditional RMS, provided by a reliable and proudly independent company that prioritizes its customers’ success,” said Riker. This ideology has influenced CODY to integrate various analytics capabilities into Pathfinder RMS as well.

The solution is compliant with state and federal National Incident-Based Reporting Standards programs and conforms to Criminal Justice Information Services standards, prioritizing data security and confidentiality to safeguard sensitive information from unauthorized access.

Being able to access CAD through an RMS is beneficial to streamline operations. For this functionality, agencies should look no further than the Hexagon OnCall portfolio.

Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure and Geospatial division has seen the benefits of their OnCall portfolio of public safety solutions. In the HxGN OnCall Records Product Suite alone, there are applications to transform jail management, mobile field reporting, citizen reporting, and analytics. Each product in the suite supports critical functions that police agencies complete every day. The full platform also includes HxGN OnCall Planning and Response for effective management of major incidents; HxGN OnCall Field Mobility to provide offsite access to dispatch and records capabilities through tablets and smartphones; and HxGN OnCall Analytics, which allows users to transform their data into invaluable insights.

OnCall Records is a feature-rich, web-based solution that provides the infrastructure needed for all Hexagon RMS products to manage critical data and interface to related systems. A fully integrated product suite reduces the need for third-party applications. With cloud-based add-ons, the RMS allows users to search, view, add, update, and link critical law enforcement database records from supported browsers.

As previously alluded to, HxGN OnCall Records integrates with a CAD system, enabling agencies to capture and harness information to reduce paperwork, inform investigations, and effectively manage resources to enhance community safety.³

In the last five years, the OnCall portfolio has been augmented with Hexagon’s patented assistive artificial intelligence platform, Smart Advisor, which helps public safety personnel find trends and anomalies in the ever-rising volume of data.

If cloud computing is the top priority of an agency, Oracle may be the right place to look. In the five years that the Oracle Public Safety Suite has been available, real-time streaming over 5G and satellite has become possible. “At Oracle, we are at the forefront of this technological change and have the first truly modern cloud solution built to take advantage of it,” said Steve Seoane, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Local Government Global Industry Unit.⁴ Each component of the platform runs on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

The Software as a Service system comprises the following components:

• CAD – Dispatch Command Center
• MDT – Vehicle Communication System
• RMS – Records Management System
• JMS – Jail Management System
• BWC – Wearable Computer System

The fully integrated suite also has unique capabilities to enable real-time situational awareness and a secure platform. Modern designs built on top of artificial intelligence technology turn officers into editors rather than authors. Users can interact with their system in a more intuitive and efficient way for the officer and the public.

The product was developed with help from a combination of three main elements. Oracle first built a team of technology experts who had over 400 combined years of experience working as or with first responders. Second, a team of world-class technologists were selected from within Oracle and other tech companies like Amazon or Google. Lastly, Oracle partnered with five agencies across four different states. These partners were actively engaged throughout the design and build phases of the public safety solution.

Conclusion

As the public continues to integrate technology into everyday life, data will continue to flow in vast amounts. Through the everyday use of police tools, footage, reports, and records are gathered, overwhelming police with data. Finding the appropriate means to manage it is essential to agency performance.

“Communities have high expectations…and technology makes it possible to meet these expectations,” said Seoane.d

Notes:

¹Axon, “The Complete Guide to Police Records Management Systems (RMS).”

²Maggie Riker (vice president of sales and marketing, CODY Systems), email interview, August 12, 2024.

³Marketing team (Hexagon), email interview, August 15, 2024.

⁴Steve Seoane (SVP & GM – Oracle Local Government Global Industry Unit, Oracle), email interview, August 15, 2024.

Please cite as:

“Going Beyond Records Storage,” Product Feature, Police Chief 91, no. 9 (September 2024): 82–85.