Issue link: http://lawandordermag.epubxp.com/i/74973
The world of law enforcement technology is changing rapidly and chiefs must stay current. staff is also needed to complete the team, but at no time should a civilian IT person have the ability to recommend a system over a group of frontline users. IT staff are there to set the technical specifications as required by the frontline officers who use the product. Chiefs must recognize this distinct difference and ensure frontline op- erational requirements are paramount. 3) Product Selection and Evaluations In some government agencies, single sourcing new products is not an option. All new purchases must be put out to Request for Proposal (RFP). If purchasing rules permit, then a fully operational testing and selection process is not only valid but mandatory. It is not good enough to see a system or upgrade working elsewhere. It has to work at your site. A chief must ensure that his depart- ment's resident experts are given complete autonomy to review business processes. The results of that review combined with frontline user input will provide insight into exactly what is required. Then look around at what other agencies are using. Site visits are a great way to see if a sys- tem might have applicability for your opera- tions. These site visits will require your users from all levels to spend time with the host- ing site's users and essentially work in the system to get a sense of whether or not the system will really work back at your agency. The evaluation process must include direct reference to the written technical and performance specifications to ensure the "system" under consideration is either "to specification" or "not to specification." Only after each of these sections have had a true "real-time" evaluation can they can come back and provide honest feedback as to how this system may or may not work. A closed-door project team debriefing is mandatory after each site visit. 4) The Politics of Financial Today's chief is well aware of the politics around budgets, financing and purchas- ing. Ensuring all these departments are kept in the loop at all stages of the IT proj- ect is a best practice, not to mention a major grief saver. This is to ensure all aspects of the projects are looked after especially in areas that are unique to these departments. Project success depends on staying within budget and who better to keep tabs on this but the very experts in the field. Often overlooked is the need to bring the rep- resentatives of these departments onside when asking for extra funding. If your agency's project funding has to be approved by a city council or legislature of elected officials, con- sider the same marketing approach before the approval process occurs. Those who have project "buy-in" are more likely to approve the project. Understanding Project 25 and how it effects your agency is critical to any LMR project. Consider all costs involved in upgrad- ing or rolling out new software or hard- ware. The initial fixed costs or one-time costs are sometimes more obvious than the operating or recurring costs. This is where professional financial support will benefit the project immensely. 5) Creative Funding Chiefs are looking for any possible way to secure project funding. Agencies need to know where and how to access the funds available to them. Motorola has taken the unique step of trying to demystify the en- tire process by creating their own website for this (www.Motorola.com/govgrants). Motorola's idea is to help chiefs sort through the red tape and capitalize on what others have already done. Some big departments may have dedicated grant writers, but most don't, and it is not something that should be done off the side of one's desk. This Motorola grant site is one-stop shopping for information, providing such things as timelines, application dates, case studies, blogs, articles, grant summaries, contacts, government links and help guides. www.lawandordermag.com 31