Police Chief Clay Morris approaches the city council in April to ask for updated equipment in vehicles. File photo.

Pell City Police Chief Clay Morris has secured a new software program the allows officers to have “mobile offices” in their patrol vehicles.

The Pell City Council approved a measure Tuesday allowing the police department to enter into an agreement with Southern Software INC for a new mobile data information system and use of the St. Clair County Computer Aided Dispatch system.

Morris said it will cut down on significant problems the officers have had using the current records management system.

Computer aided dispatch that comes from the central office, the county dispatch, is not currently a part of the car system.

Sheriff’s deputies are already familiar with this dispatch system and have it in place.

The same company produces both version of what the department currently has, but Morris believes they only own half of the full system.

“I’m trying to complete that system for the betterment of our officers,” said Morris.

CAD will also allow central dispatch to locate officers.

“They look on their screen, they see our car and then they dispatch the closest officer to that call, which cuts down on response times,” said Morris.

Morris said the biggest advantage is that officers will have more information at their fingertips and not have to remember a company’s name, the address and have to write it down on a pad, it will be in front of them in the car.

The new program will also make it easier to pull data and reports.

“It was very difficult for the police department to pull that data because we don’t have a system where we can put in any address or any intersection or any landmark that’s been geo located in geotag. With this system, we can automatically put in the address to this building here and every accident report will pull up,” said Morris.

That information can easily be given to city management to alert them of reoccurring issues.

“As we begin to make our officers’ patrol cars truly their mobile office, that’s what I want for them, I don’t want them to have to come back into the office to fill out a report,” said Morris.

“The only comment I’ve got is that I’m sorry you don’t already have it,” said Jud Alverson, city council president.