Stearns County is once again being recognized for using innovative technology to better serve its citizens. The county recently received two national awards: one for best Web site and the other is a Best of Breed award for the Computerized Law Enforcement System. The awards were presented by the Center for Digital Government in conjunction with Government Technology Magazine, and Microsoft Corp. The Best Web Site award grouped counties into four categories based on population; Stearns County took third place in the nation among counties with a population of less than 150,000. This is the first year this award has been given. Each county’s Web site was judged on functionality, features, ease of use, online services, etc. Stearns County touted such projects as the document subscription service, webcasting, the televising of meetings on cable, property tax and park permit payment systems, online forms and job applications. “When budgets are tight and resources are scarce, it’s more important than ever to use technology to help reach the needs of our citizen,” George McClure, information services director, said. “It’s about improving service and bringing government closer to the people. We want to make county government more accessible and make it easier for residents to conduct county business.” In recognition of this achievement, Stearns County was honored at the National Association of Counties’ annual conference. The Center for Digital Government, Government Technology Magazine and Microsoft Corp. also doled out Best of Breed Awards, recognizing some of the most cutting-edge programs implemented by counties. Nine counties nationwide received a Best of Breed Award for their technology-savvy projects. Stearns County was one of them, receiving recognition for its computerized law enforcement program. The Automated Public Safety system links the Sheriff’s Department and every police department in the county, allowing them to work together and communicate with each other from their office or their squad car. The law enforcement agencies can share criminal records, investigation or suspect data, and other critical information through a secure computer network. In the past, police departments kept criminal information in their own computer databases. Now Stearns County is the only county in the state to have all law enforcement agencies sharing a single system. “Before this solution was put in place, the officers had to call in everything verbally through dispatch,” McClure said. “Now with laptop computers in the squad cars, they get access to all of the records information and databases. They even have the ability to download mug shots and search the identity of a person.” This project allows all law enforcement agencies in the County to be more effective and efficient, while significantly improving public safety. Stearns County received a state award from the Association of Minnesota Counties for this same project last year. The Center for Digital Government conducts the national “Best of the Web” award program and they have received national recognition in major publications such as The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post’s “Newsbytes” magazine.
