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used as offcial court documents, if necessary. For those cases that have been adjudicated, deputies can also review the outcome of their investigations. Deputies can also use the SharePoint site to learn which offenders have been incarcerated and which have not, informing them of at-risk offenders who may have re-entered the community. SharePoint can also be used to inform decisions at higher supervisory levels. Lieutenants, for example, can review deputies' performance, crime patterns, and other critical information to intelligently manage their deputies. For example, a lieutenant may observe patrol deputies' records of a series of burglaries in a certain zone. The lieutenant might respond by asking a crime analysis manager to develop a report with relevant information related to each of the observed incidents such as the day and time of when these occurred, suspect descriptions, stolen property lists, and prolifc offenders who may be in the area. The lieutenant can then review the crime analyses and respond with a data-driven decision on the best possible strategy to reduce future burglaries in the area. In addition to these administrative advantages, SharePoint also provides the SCSO with several managerial functions that enhance efficiency in day-to-day operations. Outlook calendars, for example, can be synchronized with the program. Users can review when air support is available. If the air crew is in training, not working a certain shift, or performing maintenance on machines, users will know this immediately by checking the "air support" calendar linked in SharePoint. Calendars are also linked for traffc enforcement, detectives, and other administrative support personnel whose schedules need to be available to others in the agency. In this time when law enforcement agencies must advance their information-based, proactive po- licing strategies with limited resources, the SharePoint system provides "timely and actionable" information at various levels in the agency. In the case of SCSO, the program was sitting unused until personnel realized they wanted to activate the platform. An administrative initiative was undertaken to add a full-time IT technician to customize, manage, and refne the platform according to administrative deputies' feedback. This type of information system may only be necessary within moderate- to large-size law enforcement agencies, but sharing information between agencies, including the district attorney's offce, is a signifcant advancement in the feld. SCSO continues to develop its SharePoint platform to potentially include community corrections personnel in the effort. Overall, the successful implementation of this software program has given SCSO the ability to tap into its informa- tion to strategically determine the best ways to address crime, support other law enforcement agencies, and carry out other mission-specifc functions that would otherwise consume many more resources. Albert M. Kopak, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Western Carolina University. He can be reached at amkopak@email.wcu.edu. Angela M. McCord is a Senior Systems Analyst for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Offce in Sarasota, Fla. She can be reached at amccord@scgov.net. The authors thank Kurt Hoffman, John Jernigan, Charlie Thorpe, and Bill Forrest for the signifcant contributions they made to this article. LaO Post your comments on this story by visiting www.lawandordermag.com Click on EInfo at - www.lawandordermag.com reader service #12 www.lawandordermag.com 29