Winnebago County has been awarded a $75,000 state grant to upgrade and consolidate the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and Records Management Systems (RMS) utilized by the Sheriff’s Office and eleven other local law enforcement agencies across the county. The grant will be utilized to improve public safety by enabling local agencies to share information more efficiently in a variety of critical ways. The grant request was initiated by State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, through the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity.
Specifically, the grant award for the CAD/RMS Upgrade and Consolidation Project will go toward replacing the 12 year-old, expiring CAD systems at two 911 Centers in Winnebago County; the similarly 12 year-old, expiring RMS at the Rockford Police Department and Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office; consolidating the 12 local law enforcement agencies onto a single multi-jurisdictional RMS platform; and integrating other systems such as mug shots, warrants, orders of protection, social network mapping and more to allow officers to spend more time policing than searching for information.
“This grant will enable Rockford and surrounding communities to share information in a more effective and efficient manner, providing local law enforcement the resources to serve the unique needs of every neighborhood in our community,” Representative Sosnowski said. “I would like to thank Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara, County Board Chairman Frank Haney, Sheriff Gary Caruana and all our local municipal and law enforcement leaders across Winnebago County for their support of this initiative and for their leadership.”
“Public safety is one of my top priorities as Mayor. This grant is crucial in our efforts to consolidate our records management systems across the agencies in our area,” explains Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara. “I am thankful our delegates see the importance of this initiative and are fighting for us on a state-wide level.”
For a detailed description of the Winnebago County Regional CAD/RMS Upgrade and Consolidation Project goals, please click HERE.
The 12 law enforcement agencies in Winnebago County to benefit from the CAD/RMS Upgrade and Consolidation Project include the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office, the Rockford Police Department, and the police departments of Loves Park, Cherry Valley, Durand, South Beloit, Village of Winnebago, Rockton, Roscoe, Pecatonica, Rockford Park District and Rock Valley College.