The money will fund the setup and purchase of software and other needs associated with computer-aided dispatch and records management systems, both of which are vital to the operation, safety and effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. The money will also fund the first-year subscription costs for participating agencies.
“I can’t thank the county and commissioners enough,” Wickson said. “This is a huge thing they’ve done because it supplies leadership and an impetus to this project. Because, while all of the 15 or so agencies involved are all for this, it’s hard to coordinate that many different entities into the same direction, and so, by the commissioners approving this money, that provides the leadership and kick-start to getting this done.”
The new system, among other benefits, allows officers from different agencies to better communicate during critical incidents such as searches, chases and natural disasters.
The money stems from the $34 million allocated to Johnson County from the federal government in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Such funds are meant to replace funding lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic and/or mitigate additional harm from the pandemic.
“It’s insurance,” Commissioner Rick Bailey said of the court’s decision to approve the funding. “You don’t need it until you need it. But you don’t want to get to that situation and be without it.
“With our population growing and resources limited in many ways — whether that be number of officers, firefighters, ambulances or whatever — every second counts. This is something that can save lives, and that’s the bottom line.
“The technology is there, and we’re grateful to have the ARPA funds to be able to accomplish this without going to the taxpayers. Things like this, in my opinion, are what these ARPA funds are for.”
The approval, Bailey said, is part of the court’s larger and long-range approach to public safety. Those measures include, among other things, the commissioner’s intent to build a new 911 call center, also to be funded by ARPA money.
For now, the Cleburne Police Department, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies remain part of a consortium providing similar benefits.
“The problem we ran into is that the current platform through (a company named OSSI) is going to wind down and go away shortly,” Wickson said. “Also Burleson, who serves as the current host of the system, has decided not to run the consortium anymore.”
Wickson and others served on a committee to address the problem and locate other software vendors able to provide the same or better services.
Access to the new system — implementation remains a ways off — will be available to county agencies wishing to participate.
“The real-time dispatch information sharing and ability to communicate with each other is a big thing,” Johnson County Sheriff Adam King said. “The other big picture aspect is that it allows us to share data between departments on cases investigated, traffic stops, warnings on dangerous people, locations and things like that.”
More of that is needed, King said.
“Basically all our information, we need to share with our fellow officers,” King said. “Just because we deal with someone on one side of the county doesn’t mean that person isn’t going to go to the other side of the county and be in someone’s city limits. So that data sharing increases overall safety and effectiveness for officers and the public.”
An officer conducting a traffic stop or running a search warrant can obtain vital information on the person being dealt with.
“That’s huge,” King said. “Officer safety is a big deal in my mind, and sharing information probably more than anything increases their safety.
“I’ll give you an example. Say we’re going to run a search warrant in the city of Cleburne. We can pull up calls for service and any dealings CPD has had with that person so we know what to expect going in. If there’s indications this person is dangerous, we’re going to approach it differently.”
Data sharing through the records management system helps with criminal investigations as well, King said.
“It streamlines them,” King said. “People tend to do what they’ve done before. If someone’s a burglar that one city has dealt with and now another city is looking at him as suspect, they can look at reports and see if it’s the same MO. That data sharing saves a lot of time and gets you on track quicker.”
Wickson added that while agencies wishing to remain on the system will have to pay fees after the first year, they already pay a fee to be on the current system.
Depending on the agency, he said, those fees may be less than the cost of the current system.
“Another benefit is that where Burleson hosts the current system, no one local agency will be responsible for hosting the new system,” Wickson said. “So it’s a smaller lift for the individual IT departments of each of those participating cities.”
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