CAPS has developed some of the most advanced law enforcement support software systems that exist. Being housed in a computer science department, we have access to software design and development experts who constantly stay abreast of the most recent developments. We rarely consider a system to be completed and turn it over to “maintenance” in the traditional sense. Instead the most recent version serves as a prototype for the next version, in which technology is often incorporated that did not even exist when designing the previous version. Rapid prototyping and agile design techniques are used to provide users and stakeholders with a clear picture of what is possible so that they can enter into the design process. Their involvement continues right through beta testing, and the software is continually adjusted to their needs throughout the design and development process. The list below includes some of the major products that CAPS has generated.

AlaCOP

Alabama Communications and Operations Portal, the unique information system for law enforcement information within Alabama. AlaCOP is the umbrella system for a host of information and security systems, including the Active Directory Authentication and Processing Tool (ADAPT), and the Law Enforcement Tactical System (LETS).

CARE

The Critical Analysis Reporting Environment uses advanced analytical and statistical techniques to generate valuable information directly from data. By following the step-by-step menus outlined on the screen, users find CARE extremely easy to use and extremely enlightening in turning their data into useful information.

DASHBoards

Data Analysis Summary Highlight Boards. Dashboards are a new type of web portal developed by CAPS to serve as administrative tools to complement other applications (such as eCite). Officers and supervisors have access to a number of statistical summary pages as well as various search engines. However, most of the information that they need is at their fingertips by default without invoking any programs. For example, on the eCite Dashboard, officers can search through the citations they have most recently issued and find statistics about these or any of their other citations.

eCite

Electronic Citations Generation and Processing System. This is a complete system that fits within the Mobile Officer’s Virtual Environment (MOVE), enabling officers to easily generate citations in a matter of minutes, validate the defendant’s identity and view their previous records, upload the citation and electronically “swear” to the citations at District courts.

eCrash

An electronic traffic crash reporting and transmission procedure developed by CAPS working under the direction and close collaboration of the Alabama Department of Public Safety.

FMCSA Mobile Client Application (MCA)

This is a major effort sponsored by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to replace a number of concurrently existing systems with one field application. All users will perform their work tasks from a single log-in entry page that provides access to all of the existing functionality of the various systems. At the same time, the opportunity is being taken to generally upgrade the application technologies to generate additional benefits, to enable them to become more effectively interoperable, and to provide the capability for all of them to synchronize with the FMCSA Portal. This improved technology and consolidation of functionality will speed response to evolving business requirements, significantly expand IT delivery capabilities, and reduce IT operation and maintenance costs.

SHARE

Secure Homeland Access and Reporting Environment, a web portal developed with support of the US Department of Homeland Security (USDHS). Its major goal is to establish the critical missing link between State/Federal homeland security officials and field officers. Field officers are defined within this context to be all federal, state, local agency and private sector security officers who may be in situations where they might observe terrorist activity. While SHARE is strictly for interactions between law enforcement and the state’s Fusion Center, a companion portal, called the Portal to Uphold a Secure Homeland (PUSH), was also developed as part of this project to support private sector security personnel who oversee critical infrastructure.

ULTRA

UCR Local Template for Reporting and Analysis (ULTRA), a system to assist local agencies in creating and submitting their Uniform Crime Reports. In late 2008, the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) unveiled ULTRA, a software system that was developed by the Center for Advanced Public Safety with their close guidance and sponsorship. ULTRA is a smart-client software application that allows agencies to create and submit Alabama Uniform Incident Offense (IO) and Arrest reports to ACJIC via the Internet. ULTRA offers a no-cost solution to agencies who wish to be able to enter, search and retrieve state IO, Arrest and Supplement Reports.

GIS

Geographical Information Systems (GIS) – CAPS has dedicated considerable resources to bringing the production of GIS visualizations to the broadest base of users possible. For example, a map of the current hotspot is automatically produced during the CARE hotspot analysis without any user intervention. Maps of any combination of hotspots (e.g., all those on a given route, statewide, specified routes, etc.) can be generated with two or three easy mouse clicks. Specialized mapping systems (called CAPS Maps), including easy filtering and on-screen time and day of the week specification, have been produced for high crash locations, high crash counties, and high citation concentration locations and areas. Another tool, PatrolSim produces an optimized route for officers to cover on a given day to maximize the number of worst hotspots encountered. Finally, a specialized tool has been developed for the Ticketing Aggressive Cars and Trucks (TACT) program. CAPS is also the major leader in the country in integrating standardized GIS packages (e.g., ESRI and Geomedia) into its analytical packages so that users do not have to be experts in these packages to use them.

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