PRI
THE RECORDS ROOM  
Public safety's records management & technology news 

Brought to you by:                  www.policerecordsmanagement.com                 May 2014
 
Public Safety Records and IT News

  

Kansas votes to open some police records

 

FL Sheriff uses Google Search Appliance to search records 

 

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Did you know this about UCR?
 
Just because a warrant is obtained doesn't mean you can claim an arrest or an exceptional clearance. 
 
In order to clear a case by arrest when a warrant is obtained, the warrant has to be served.
 
And just because a warrant has been obtained doesn't necessarily mean you can clear a case by exception unless all 4 ex-clear requirements have been met.
Host a class at your agency and get free seats
 
If you host one of our seminars (see our website for course comments) at your agency, we'll give you 2 free seats.
 
All it requires is use of a training room with a computer projector (and some coffee) and PRI handles everything else.  Easy.
 
We are interested in agencies in populated areas with good facilities for courses in late summer and fall.  Contact us here.
About Us
 
We provide professional public safety information management consulting and training services in the fields of IT, UCR, NIBRS, CJIS, records management and FOIA compliance.

P.O. Box 142151
Coral Gables, FL.
  
305.460.0096
  Online police reporting risk! Agencies beware.
Systems that allow citizens to file a report online with a police department, include a narrative of the incident, and obtain a case number, can do so for illicit purposes.  PRI recently learned of a department that identified possible abuse of their online reporting system, thanks to their thorough quality control procedures. 
An astute records employee began to see a pattern of reports containing almost the exact same narrative describing how a person's identity was stolen.   All of the narratives read the same but the individuals names were different.  The department suspects these were false reports filed for the purposes of avoiding negative entries on the individuals credit histories by claiming ID theft to the credit bureaus.
         
Another place such abuse can occur are reports filed for "stolen" cell phones for the purposes of filing false claims in order to get a new phone.   

While these are great systems to have, their is plenty of room for abuse which is all the more reason police agencies must have thorough quality control procedures in place. This means reading reports, checking them for errors, omissions, UCR compliance and well written narratives which articulate the details of the incident and justify the title/classification. Failure to do so is what gets agencies in trouble- something PRI has written plenty about in past articles and has lot's of experience in.

 Announcements  

You asked, we listened!  Online training coming...
The overwhelmingly positive feedback to our training seminars along with your requests for more training means we are expanding our offerings- online!  We are currently developing on-demand training and live webinar courses in a variety of topics which we have listed in a survey that will allow you to give your input.
 
 
PRI exhibiting at Louisiana Sheriff's Conference
Meet us in Destin, FL July 27-31 at the LSA conference to learn about our expert public safety information management and technology consulting and training services.   

 Upcoming Police Records Training Seminars 

Building a Model Police Records Unit
A 2 day class for all police records personnel. $375 

The only one of its kind, this two day course was developed by current law enforcement personnel and has received excellent reviews. Learn how to minimize liability, improve performance, empower the records function, build professionalism, and increase customer service. Designed for records managers, clerks and supervisors, this course teaches you how to run the records unit as if it were a business: efficiently, legally and customer focused. Learn practical techniques that will improve the operations of this critical support component.

  • Develop a records management plan
  • Gain compliance with UCR standards
  • Developing efficient report correction workflows
  • How to legally correct reports after the fact
  • Disposing of records legally and efficiently
  • Reviewing and approving reports
  • Developing a report writing manual
  • Developing a records unit manual
  • Developing performance and accountability standards
                 
Texas, Illinois, Colorado, California 
Details & Registration Here

 More locations in Florida, Alabama, New Jersey coming soon. 
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Managing Police Records   
All you need to know about the release and retention of public info. $195 

This class provides the information you need to ensure your agency is in compliance with public records law. Do your personnel understand what information can really be released and when it should be destroyed? Learn how long to keep records, in what format, and what the requirements are for managing information:

  • What can be released to the public and when 
  • Keeping track of what was destroyed and when
  • What records are permanent?
  • Records retention schedules and procedures
  • Police reports, email, financial records, supporting documentation, and more.
August 6th, Largo FL.

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Crime Stats & UCR for the Police Executive
Everything you need to know about your agency's numbers
$145
. 
Reading a UCR report is one thing;  understanding what the numbers represent and how to explain them to those who ask is something entirely different.  We teach you how. UCR is highly misunderstood and this class will provide the police executive or other interested employee a very practical understanding of the program. This class will give you the tools you need to understand, review and report your crime statistics and UCR numbers correctly (2 different things!).  Learn about what UCR is for, how it works and why it's done.
  • How crimes are counted and cleared
  • The real difference between persons crimes and property crimes
  • Why your analyst's numbers are always different than Records
  • When can you really exceptionally clear a case?
  • Avoid the most common pitfalls to accurate stats
  • Keep your agency out of the headlines
  • Are your officers reporting multiple crime incidents correctly
Louisiana and Ohio
 
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100% of attendees at our last class rated it as "excellent".

Read actual course reviews here

Attendees receive a workshop manual, certificate, and great training that is hard to find.