Baltimore receives $2M from state for police record management system

Baltimore city is receiving $2 million from the state for technology that will help the police department manage records.
According to the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, the system will help the department convert paper records into electronic formats. The funding will also help the police department develop new data entry forms that improve integration of data and ability to collaborate with other agencies.
The technology funding was part of $12 million overall for efforts to address violence in Baltimore. The additional $10 million is going toward creating a program that introduces health initiatives called the Violence Intervention and Prevention Program, and to pay for the salaries of 75 officers focused on community policing.
“These awards will directly impact crime reduction initiatives through a number of law enforcement and community-based programs, and will bolster efforts to make Baltimore safer for residents, workers, and visitors,” Gov. Larry Hogan said in a statement.
The department’s outdated technology is frequently lamented by officials. According to the Baltimore Sun, manual data entry was found to take up an “extraordinary” amount of officers’ time in a study of the Baltimore Police Department’s use of technology issued earlier this year by the National Police Foundation.
“There is a significant use of personnel resources to manually process, review and track reports that can be eliminated with the implementation of appropriate IT solutions,” the report states.
The state also provided $2 million last year for mobile data terminals in police cards, according to a news release. In 2016, a new document system was introduced to track policies. For case management, the department is using Lotus Notes.