With new software for the Oroville Police Department, one can do such things and more on their smartphone.
The Oroville City Council approved the purchase of a subscription to the Specialized Police Intelligence and Data Resource suite — SPIDR for short — by the company Community Connect.
Interim Police Chief Jason Wines, who requested the purchase, said the software is capable of sending text messages to 911 callers about real-time updates to responses times, delays and case closures.
One of the more exciting parts of the software, in Wines’ opinion, is the ability for callers to critique and provide reviews on police officers, and that the best way the department can learn is from honest reviews.
“Yes, everybody might want to bash initially, but it can only make us better, right?” Wines said to councilors at Tuesday’s meeting. “Having them be able to review a four-star or a perfect or whatever rating we want to use, then we can use that for officer evaluations in their annual reviews or periodic reviews.”
City Administrator Brian Ring said in an interview Friday the software will be integrated within two to four weeks after training is completed and contracts are signed. He said the city doesn’t want to take away human interaction, “which is critical,” but this tool can help make sure follow-up takes place if an officer has a busy day.
“They don’t have to constantly ask for information; our officers don’t have to try to remember and put it on their calendar to notify these people,” Wines said. “It’s just a better way to communicate with the citizens.
Councilors approved the software to be purchased at $24,840 for the first year including a 10% discount. The subscription will resume thereafter at $15,840 per year.
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