Butte police department scraps new computer system

$300,000 computer software wasn’t getting the job done, sheriff says

The Butte police department recently scrapped software it installed less than three years ago during a $780,000 overhaul of its computer system.

Most of that money bought computer equipment and radios that police will still use, the department said. But as much as $300,000 paid for the purchase and installation software from Logistic Systems of Missoula.

Sheriff John Walsh decided to stop using the new software.

“I finally had to make the determination that it wasn’t doing what we expected it to do and what we paid for,” he said.

The software never organized pawn shop and civil lawsuit information as expected, Walsh said. It never adequately managed jail records. And it increased the time it took for police to write reports.

Walsh recently surveyed police department employees, asking them what they thought of the Logistic Systems software. Ninety-nine percent disliked it, he said.

Morale dwindled because of the difficulties employees were having with the new software, Walsh said. He hopes abandoning the software will fix that.

By Thad Kelling of The Montana Standard

Full Story: http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2005/11/02/newsbutte_top/newsbutte_top.txt