Technology Keeps Northville Officers on Patrol

The has turned to technology to keep officers on the road in this age of tight budgeting.

But it’s far from the world of Robocop, and it doesn’t involve high-tech weaponry.

Nonetheless, the subtle shifts in the way the local department records and processes everything from crime reports to traffic tickets and accidents is noticeable.

“There are three major ways technology has made a difference,” Chief Gary Goss said.

For two years, local police have participated in several regional information-sharing systems that they say have all cut down on desk work, giving them more time for patrol work.

Crime data is now maintained on the NetRMS reporting system, which is shared with other communities throughout Oakland County, he explained.

“It allows us to compile information online at the click of a button,” Goss said.

Another system, known as UD-10, allows traffic accident reports to be filed online.

“The advantage here, too, is that people and insurance companies can access this information online, rather than having to come into our office,” the chief said.

The technology is familiar to anyone who has filled out a registration or searched for a record online, city officials noted.

The third leg, Goss said, is that police cars are now outfitted with digital recording devices rather than the outdated VHS systems.

“All our interactions with the public are recorded,” Goss said. “But it’s much less time-consuming to access material digitally than it was with VHS tapes.” With the tapes, he said, police personnel would spend time winding and rewinding to find what they needed. Digital offers almost instant access, he said.

UD-10 operates through the state police. NetRMS is provided through Oakland County’s Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System (CLEMIS).

“A lot of departments are doing this now,” Goss said of both programs.

The technology is especially critical for Northville, where 2009 budget cutbacks forced layoffs of the department’s full- and part-time records clerks and eight part-time officers.

Next year’s estimated $2 million local police budget continues a four-year trend that has seen police spending shrink by nearly 25 percent during the past four years, the chief said, making the time-saving efficiency even more important.

“Technology always takes a little getting used to,” Police Sgt. Dustin Krueger said. "But everyone’s on board, they can see the benefit."

Data department members used to get information by sifting through 4-by-5-inch cards, but that information is now available online, Krueger said, making it easier for all involved.

“Really, I don’t know where we’d be without the technology.”

The Police Department isn’t the only city department to take part in the trend.

“Technology is playing a key role across the board,” City Manager Patrick Sullivan said. “In addition to the Police Department, we’ve also added online water billing.”

Despite personnel cutbacks, and even with the new technology, it still takes people to make the system run efficiently, Sullivan said.

“You see things like the chief at the desk taking someone’s concealed weapons permit,” Sullivan said. “Everyone has stepped it up. “