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Information Systems

Marlaine Hoffman, Deputy Director, E 9-1-1 and Information Systems
(716) 858-7461

The Information Systems Division was established to create and implement standardized computer services to be made available to each of the City, Town and Village Police Departments in Erie County.  Information Systems provides a professional resource that complies with all the latest standards related to Information Systems, Computers and Information Access Security as defined by State and Federal Guidelines.

With the focus on centralizing services that would assist each of these departments in complying with federal and state reporting mandates, division personnel develop, implement and maintain one of the most advanced and comprehensive Police Record Management Systems in the United States.

Among the systems are:

  • ENTPortal - connects law enforcement and other criminal justice agencies with the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) and the National Crime Information Center (NCIC)
  • Computer Aided Dispatch (ENTCAD):
    • Law Enforcement
    • Fire, including interfaces with local volunteer fire services
    • Emergency Medical Services - Ambulance
    • Emergency Alerting & Paging
    • Interfaces with NITTEC and AMR
    • Closest Car calculations
  • Records Management (CHARMS):
    • Police Reports, Arrests, Summons, Parking Tag, Personnel, Dispatch, Reporting, Master Name, False Alarm Billing, Towing
  • Arrest System:
    • Stores booking information and makes it available through a web-based, secure browser including mug shots
    • Sends fingerprints to NYS DCJS for identification processing
    • Captures local rap sheets
  • Mobile Computing:
    • TraCS - Automated Traffic Ticketing and Accident Reporting
    • Interagency CHAT Functions including BOLO's
    • Call for Service - Dispatching and Updating, Police Reporting
    • AVL - Automatic Vehicle Locator System
    • Police Reports and Field Contacts
  • Data Warehouse - Facilitates the sharing of crucial data throughout Erie County

Though the core components are deemed to be the most important of Information Systems services and support, additional needs of Police and other Criminal Justice Agencies are met through:

  • research and development of unique techniques that reduces personnel time and related costs in processing data by each Criminal Justice Agency;
  • research and development of unique software designed for local Police Department in-house systems;
  • research and development of unique techniques that assist processing data to the state level;
  • consultation services in computer-related issues to all Criminal Justice Agencies;
  • standardized training in Police Reporting to the State and Federal Government;
  • standardized training in use of the Police Communications Network and access to state and federal Criminal Justice Systems;
  • maintenance of telecommunication and local system security programs;
  • seminars related to privacy, security and freedom of information issues;

Personnel, including mid-level management, senior to junior programmer analysts and clerical control, provide 24-hour, 7-day support for the police telecommunications network as well as crucial police record systems. In addition, research, design and implementation of state-of-the art technology along with the search for funding to support new applications is an on-going function within the Information Systems Division.

Previous efforts have resulted in application and receipt of grant funding for programs such as:

  • dynamic transmission of arrest-fingerprint data to New York State's Criminal History Record Repository (the first of its type in the United States)
  • implement scanning of police documents adding the information to the appropriate database
  • research, assist and implement automatic statistical reporting at the state level
  • Deployment and maintenance of in-car summons and accident reporting
  • Implement county wide data sharing between law enforcement agencies
  • Implement centralized storage and retrieval of License Plate Reader captures