Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/144260
FOCUS Microsoft SharePoint Attention is immediately directed to new information in the SharePoint system. Finally, SharePoint can be integrated fairly easily into a computer environment that already utilizes Microsoft programs. The program works seamlessly with Microsoft Outlook, for example, and calendar information can be immediately synchronized from one program to another. SharePoint gives offcers a variety of tools to share relevant information within the agency. One example is found through offcers' newly adopted SharePoint-based procedures for conducting daily briefngs. At the end of each shift, offcers can post critical information about incidents or investigations they just worked so offcers starting on the next shift are immediately informed. Offcers typically post this information in the site's area designated for their respective sector, but the information is accessible to all users. This is especially helpful if offcers should be aware of potentially violent offenders who could be passing through a number of sectors. In these types of situations, offcers can update one another about potentially violent recently escaped prison inmates, for instance. A brief post on the daily briefng site can offer a physical description of the escapee, the li- 28 LAW and ORDER I July 2013 cense tag to the car the escapee was believed to be driving, and the last known whereabouts when offcers had made contact. The SharePoint program has the capability to attach supplementary digital fles, i.e., PDF, JPEG, TIFF, etc. containing mug shots to provide the most comprehensive information related to a given incident. Deputies can also read safety bulletins issued for special circumstances, such as when a known gang member with an extensive and violent criminal history had contact with a deputy in a certain zone. The advantage of communicating this information is found in the heightened preparation among deputies who receive a call for service to a particular residence or nearby location where a potentially dangerous suspect may be. SharePoint also increases the efficiency of SCSO deputies who enforce sex offender registry laws. Deputies are required by law to monitor sex offenders' residences and every time a convicted sex offender changes his/her address, the new address must be registered and confrmed by a deputy. The SharePoint site contains a feature allowing deputies to maintain a centrally located and easily accessible record of which addresses have been confrmed and which have not. This real-time assessment, which can be immediately updated from the feld, is designed to decrease the likelihood of a sex offender intentionally avoiding the required reporting mandated by their conviction. A similar system has been established to improve effciency for those deputies whose duties include serving court orders. Deputies can access the SharePoint system to provide immediate updates of their efforts to serve a court order through a discussion-board type forum about a certain case. Instead of having multiple deputies trying unsuccessfully to serve an order, this function of the site provides documentation of the date and time of the attempted service, the outcome, and how to best proceed to complete the task. One noticeable beneft of the SharePoint portal is the improved response of collaborating agencies. For example, it helped the Sarasota, Fla. Police with a subject listed in SharePoint as having a violent history with law enforcement offcers and also another person of interest listed for a burglary." The SharePoint platform successfully notifed offcers to be on the lookout for a suspect in a robbery investigation. Recognition of the suspect from the announcement on the site gave offcers the opportunity to take the individual into custody immediately. In addition to other law enforcement agencies, SCSO has also granted access to their information in the SharePoint site to the State Attorney's Offce of the 12th Circuit of Florida. The State Attorney's Offce uses the system primarily to track the cases of repeat offenders. Prosecutors responsible for these prolifc offender cases are granted access to SharePoint and they input the status of each of these high-risk offenders. This information is available to Sheriff's deputies who, for example, can visit the site and determine who has been issued a pre-trial release. Deputies can follow up with investigations on these offenders and provide relevant information to assist prosecutors as they continue to prepare a case. All the information deputies have recorded in SharePoint can be exported into Excel® spreadsheets or other formats to be