The City of Ocala, Florida Uses
Computer Information Systems, Inc.’s (CIS)
Public Safety Systems to Protect and Serve
the Public Since 2007
Skokie, IL – April 28th, 2014
use this title, based on annual revenue produced by the horse industry. 44,000 jobs are
created by the breeding, training and related
support of the local equine industry, which
generates over $2.2 billion in annual revenue.
Ocala’s residents and daytime population are
served and protected by the Ocala Police
Department, headed by Police Chief Greg
Graham. The police department is comprised
of approximately 300 dedicated personnel.
The City of Ocala, established in 1846 and
located in north central Florida, is the County
Seat of Marion County, some 90 miles from
Orlando. Ocala is home to over 57,000 residents, but daytime population can swell to
over 150,000 people.
In 1978, Marion County bred and raised thoroughbred "Affirmed", won the Triple Crown.
Today, the county is one of the major thoroughbred centers of the world, with more
than 1,200 horse farms spanning over 77,000
acres. Ocala is well known as a "horse capital of the world."
Of note, Ocala is one of only five cities (four
in the USA and one in France) permitted
under Chamber of Commerce guidelines to
Since 2007, both sworn and non-sworn use
the CIS Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD),
Records Management (RMS) and Mobile
Computing System (MCS) from Computer
Information Systems.
Prior to the CIS system installation, Ocala PD
was using an IBM AS/400 text based system
to dispatch, as well as the Mobile and
Records Management Modules. From 2000
to 2005, the department ingested records and
reports from various sources, however, the
existing Public Safety vendor was less than
enthusiastic toward meeting their data
extraction requirements. That, coupled with
the increasing cost of programming and
operation, and that the equipment did not
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‘scale’ well, forced the Ocala PD to conduct
a business case analysis for a replacement
vendor during the summer of 2005.
This in-depth analysis spanned 18 months.
During that time, the Ocala PD requested
information on 60 plus Public Safety vendors
across the nation. The list was then evaluated and reduced to 15 companies. Live
demonstrations were held in the summer of
2006, with an ultimate choice of three
providers.
Computer Information Systems (Skokie, IL)
was chosen primarily because they met the
department's requirements, were extremely
visionary and flexible toward moving their
products forward, and were the lowest cost
in terms of both initial investment and yearly recurring charge. Total cost of ownership
was, and continues to be, very low compared to the sustained high value provided.
The problem with the older "pre-CIS" software
was that it was not easy to use, and, information was captured, but the department was
not able to retrieve vital data. In comparison,
reports from CIS are quick, easy, and accurate. Primarily because of the high efficiency
of CIS, Ocala PD has both quickened the
response time, and allowed for more Calls for
Service for "Boots on the Ground" since
migrating off the previous vendor in 2007.
The department cites the CIS System as easy
to use, “people friendly" with a great search
engine, especially their Master data crime
search program. Additionally, the new Export
Incident Package within their Records
Management System, allows the Records
Section to send the entire Incident package
(in .pdf) to other agencies. This is used daily
for the processing of arrests to their State
Attorney’s Office and also allows the
Technical Services section to electronically
send photographs to them as well.
The implementation of CIS in the Evidence
section has positively changed the day to day
makeup and structure of gathering, maintaining, cataloging and saving evidential material. CIS reports have been written to greatly
simplify the operational dynamic of that area.
The department is also enthusiastic about the
newly created CIS ‘Crime Search’ function,
which enables them to search on any field
from anywhere, at any time. Useful for the
Intelligence Division, it will also have applicability to their Patrol Cars so that the road officer can search their entire Records
Management System, and drill down using a
multitude of Search criteria.
Additional key attributes include the ability for
officers to cut down on radio traffic by putting
themselves on non-emergency calls such as
traffic duties, with no dispatcher intervention.
In fact, the system has the ability to add
images to the Master Name file, case files, or
CAD Premise information records. Once in
CIS, images such as Driver License or
Booking photos as well as maps of apartment
complexes can be quickly sent to the Mobile
Data Terminals for field units to view.
their knowledge of rights and services available to them. It increases safety while
encouraging cooperation and prevention.
OPD Patrol officers have the ability to quickly
get tag information and wanted status on
traffic stops, a key capability of the CIS
Mobile System. Dispatchers have the access
immediately to this information as well.
Ocala PD has high praise for CIS’s Technical
Staff. “Their support staff is great. They are
a 24/7/365 company. They have a real desire
to help.”
Regarding their Victim Witness program, CIS
has positively impacted their ability to follow
up with victims of crime, specifically with
domestic violence, dating violence, robbery,
stalking, sex crimes and child abuse. The
CIS reports are run for specific crimes and
results in pre-generated victim information.
Prompt follow-up with victims increases
Summarized by Mayor Guinn and Chief
Graham, in April 2014, the CIS Software is
simple to use, easy to understand, quick to
access and of great value for the investment.
The company is aggressively customer oriented and focused.
About Computer Information Systems Inc.
Computer Information Systems, headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, develops, markets, maintains and
supports its seamless Windows® Systems: Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) System, Records
Management System (RMS), Civil Process System (CPS), Jail Management System (JMS) and Mobile
Computer System (MCS). Since 1985, Computer Information Systems has had a single market focus
of Public Safety Software Solutions, which are being used by hundreds of agencies who rank CIS as the
most trusted and reliable provider nationwide. For more information, visit www.cis.com.
(c) 2014 Computer Information Systems Inc. All rights reserved. Computer Information Systems and the Computer Information
Systems logo are registered trademarks of Computer Information Systems Inc. in the United States.
Contact Information:
Computer Information Systems Inc., Linda Berk
Toll-Free 877-673-7800
[email protected]