SPRINGFIELD — The City Council approved a $7.2 million package to bring the police department’s inadequate computer software programs into the 21st century and upgrade the body worn cameras and electronic stun guns for all officers patrolling the streets.
“When it comes to updating our software system, in many ways we are still stuck in the 20th century,” Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers said Monday night. “Our records management system hasn’t been updated since 1994 or 1995, unless it was a piecemeal solution just to get us by.”
Akers acknowledged the $7.2 million package is the “elephant in the room.” But he said the cost will be spread over five years and said the department is being hampered by the antiquated technology because it is using software that is no longer designed for many of the things it does today.
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