User Story: Roll Out Experience

Q How did the Roll Out at South Burlington Police Department go?

A As the Valcour CAD/RMS™ Program Manager for SBPD, I had direct contact with CrossWind on a regular (and, at times, hourly) basis just prior to and after Go-Live. The staff at CrossWind addressed our concerns immediately and offered suggestions and workarounds.  As we continued to use the system and determined our needs required additional features, the system was tailored to meet these needs.

Q How would you compare the rollout of Valcour CAD/RMS™ with upgrades of your old RMS?

A When South Burlington Police (VT) went live on Valcour CAD/RMS™, the process went remarkably well.  This was the Agency’s first major RMS upgrade in nearly a decade and the potential for significant challenges was high, particularly since we were only second nationwide to adopt this program.  Despite the potential pitfalls, South Burlington Police worked with a mentor agency in cooperation with CrossWind to minimize issues.  At 0700 hours on April 30, 2012 we “flipped the switch” and haven’t looked back. Having used several other RMS systems in my career, both Law Enforcement based and not, I have found my experience with Valcour to be extremely positive.
The web based format allows minimal downtime while allowing changes to be pushed whenever needed, as situations dictate. It also significantly reduced the time needed to install; the previous system took almost two hours per PC whereas Valcour CAD/RMS™ takes a matter of just a few minutes to update across the entire agency.

Q When you served as a roll out Mentor to other agencies, how did Valcour CAD/RMS™ fit with their workflows?

A My experience from an early phase of development also allowed me to be a Mentor for several other agencies after we went live.  During the most recent Go-Live process, I mentored two agencies (out of 6), each with vastly different missions than any of the agencies which were already using Valcour CAD/RMS™.  The missions and workflows of the Vermont DMV and the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department were diverse, but we executed both roll-outs simultaneously in just 90 days, start-to-finish. Our weekly Valcour CAD/RMS™ Program Manager Meetings with CrossWind enabled us to meet with our peer Program Managers and bring together our LE experience to solve problems, increase efficiency and have a direct impact on ongoing Valcour CAD/RMS™ development and updates.

Q Please describe the Mentor Program you used to roll Valcour CAD/RMS™ out to 6 additional agencies

A By creating a support system in-state based on Program Managers who have already had success with Valcour CAD/RMS™, we form a support cooperative and are able to provide an environment that is not overly technical for new agencies.  Users unfamiliar with the system received role specific training tailored to their job requirements from Mentors who generally were law enforcement or affiliated personnel.  The Valcour CAD/RMS™ Mentors and Program Managers work in a cooperative support environment also allows us to pool expertise and educate one another.

Q How is Valcour CAD/RMS™ working at your agency?

A Despite the simple, easy-to-use user interface, Valcour CAD/RMS™ tracks all the data that is captured by traditional CAD/RMS’s. The reporting features are not as rich as our old CAD/RMS, but it takes about 1/10th of the time to get through our paperwork. The old system would slice-and-dice reports in almost any way you wanted but it took about 4 hours to process the supplemental paperwork for a single arrest, whereas Valcour CAD/RMS™ takes 30 minutes. Additionally, the ability to share data with neighboring agencies instantly, without picking up a phone and “calling around” as well as the ability to completely handle and process complaints in the field saves a tremendous amount of time.