September 20, 2007

We miss our friend Len Christoforo

We get occasional questions from customers who wonder about our beginning. Len Christoforo was a police officer for the Lavallette Police department and was actually the one who inspired and encouraged our founders to go into the software market for police applications. He was a tester, mentor and friend. He recently passed after a long illness. Len, you will always be #1 with us.

August 15, 2007

One size does NOT fit all - not in the Garden State

Decision-makers in Police Departments who are looking to purchase software to meet their needs quickly learn, if it was not already apparent, that there is no vendor who will have 'out of the box' systems that exactly match their needs, since there is essentially no standard enforced on all the local departments by a higher authority. Granted, there are several state standard reports, but municipalities are not required to all use them. The upshot of this situation, of course, is that departments must either undertake a massive re-education of their staff to conform to the report formats and data entry methods found in vendor packages, or hope to find a cost-effective approach to this solution. This is where we as a company shine. One of the prime reasons we are light on our feet and able to rapidly customize a solution is that our principal staff are all veteran programmers, and the software development environment we use is famous for rapid protoyping, testing, and rollout. If these concepts are not familiar to you, then all you need to take away from this short article is this: we are designed, from top to bottom, for the local variations and customized needs of the New Jersey law enforcement community. Give us a look.

July 25, 2007

Man on a Mission

During the two days of the recent Police Security Expo, we had a little bit of time to wander the aisles. One booth which seemed to always be two- or three-deep was the one for Ticket Board, Inc., an Ohio-based company which sells --- guess what --- Ticket boards! Now you might think this is a pretty prosaic product area, but the 3 to 4 gentlemen manning the booths were busy because of the quality and versatility of their product. We spoke briefly with one of the principals, Ptl. Jeff Cohara, and came away impressed. This Buckeye is a man on a mission, and the mission is simple --- and righteous. He referred us to Tony Leanza, the founder of the company, who consented to an email interview, presented below.

Q: Tony, what is your motivation for the product line?
A: My motivation for Ticket Board is Officer Safety, the Ticket Board eliminates the used of dome lights and flashlight.
Q: Tony, I understand that some of you actually took personal time to help you run the booth. What inspired them to do so?
A: The Police Officers ... are committed to making officers safe, they are proud users of the Ticket Board as well.
Q: If you could put the merits of your Ticket Board products into a sentence, what would you say?
A: Makes traffic stops safer.
Q: What motivated you to start the company?
A: My motivation ... was Officer Safety; all I did was create a tool that stopped putting the Officer at risk during a traffic stop.
Q: I've heard that your product has already saved the life of an officer doing a traffic stop in Louisiana. Is this true?
A: Yes, that is very true; one of the traffic officers from Sun Police Department in Louisiana, used his Ticket Board to fend off a knife attack. I stand behind the Ticket Board, any Ticket Board that is damaged during a stop I will replace for Life.

July 15, 2007

21st annual Police Security Expo in Atlantic City

As you may know, we had a booth at the 21st annual Police Security Expo in Atlantic City in June. It was a successful show, well attended. We would like to thank everyone who stopped by to say hello. It was nice to see some old faces, and we are pleased to report that there was a lot of interest in our products from some new folks as well. Our prices, and the modern, flexible interface of our products continue to resonate with cost-conscious 'shoppers', and who isn't cost-conscious nowadays? As always, we offer quality software which is customizable and powerful.

June 15, 2007

EZ Notify© - EMail, SMS (Text Messaging)

For Immediate Release

PoliceSoftware.com is pleased to announce the latest release of our Emergency Notification Program, EZ Notify© 2.0. We have added super fast EMail and SMS (Text Messaging) to our already feature packed product. EZ Notify© is a powerful tool that brings the power of mass communication to anyone who needs send messages fast. EZNotify© can be used for Public Service Announcements, Homeland Security Exercises, School Closing Anouncements and Meeting Scheduling just to name a few.

January 5, 2007

Policesoftware.com wins Homeland Security contract for EZ Notify©

Obviously we live in a world where timely notification of emergencies and other vital information to citizens and officials is extremely important. A multi-faceted approach to threats is not only useful, but downright necessary. The Department of Homeland Security recently purchased one of our software products for use in emergency and criminal notification. Schools, Banks and other relevant businesses can also use this service to notify response personnel by SMS Text service or email in a very flexible and easy to understand fashion. Our product helped solve a crime and was featured in a local newpaper. A recent email notification was sent to nearby salvage yards regarding a recent theft of $100,000 worth of copper tubing from a school construction site, and when the crooks showed up at the salvage yards, they were apprehended.

December 15, 2006

Mobile GPS Synchronization with ESRI© Database to be installed in New Jersey in May

In a useful example of how the benefits of technology can save money, and possibly lives, one of our charter clients will soon have their GPS-equipped units automatically reflected on the screen for their dispatchers and any other authorized members of the Department.

We asked our Director of the company to give us a safe '30 thousand foot flyover' of the technology.

Here's his description of the highlights of the system in a recent interview.

How does the GPS work with the Dispatcher Map?

"Cars are equipped with a GPS-aware radio transmitter. The software sitting on the server back at the building is constantly listening for information from those GPS transmitters. When a unit turns on its GPS system, a little handshaking takes place, as we call it in the IT world, and a connection of sorts is established between base and unit. We can also run this on a wireless LAN, if the department is set up with one or we can install one for you. Using modern software and a robust, but inexpensive database, we model that unit in that department's database. Over that connection, for the time that unit is on, it continually sends back its coordinates, which are then taken in the database, and when the Dispatcher's map is on, the map display is refreshed with an updated location of that unit, typically through a standard serial port."

And this still works when I zoom in and out on the map?

"Sure. Anyone interested in a demo, and discussion of customized reports, should contact us."

March 21, 2006

Customer Service is Number One!

Bill Nigh has joined our team, with an emphasis on Testing, Quality Assurance, and Customer Service and Support. Bill is well suited to the new responsibilities, as he brings a diverse background to apply to those areas. It is rare for a technical person to be personable and patient, and have attention to detail in the non-technical areas.

Bill has input into the development cycle based on user feedback, and as a long-time developer of software using the PowerBuilder and Sybase platforms, he knows how to talk to the programmers and database folks in getting across user requirements and wishes.

"The only way to handle new requests", he is also quick to add, "is to properly document the change request, and ensure it is given appropriate priority in the queue the developers use for new product and new version development.

Bill was sold on PoliceSoftware.com as soon as he met with the owners of the company. "They understand their price point, have a good fit with skills and backgrounds, have an excellent product, and run a company which is quick on its feet. I also like that the company is a Federal Department of Homeland Security vendor, which gives them constant access to updated geospatial information."

We at PoliceSoftware.com are glad to welcome Bill on board.

August 30, 2005

Local Support Every Time

We have heard of some of our competitors out-sourcing such functions as support lines to overseas low-cost operators. The benefits of outsourcing are questionable in some areas, but even if outsourcing would be a 'win' for the bottom line, we at Policesoftware.com would never do so. As needs require, we always hire local people. We hope you consider this in your decision-making.