Probable Cause Declarations (PC DEC’s)

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Alameda County is home to a diverse population of over 1.5 million residents spread across 813 square miles. Law Enforcement agencies within this diverse geographic area are mandated to create and have judges approve a ‘Probable Cause Declaration’ for every arrest in the County. The process of creating the declaration is a labor intensive and time consuming process and on average takes five hours to completion. In 2010, in consultation with the Law Enforcement agencies, Alameda County’s Information Technology Department embarked on an initiative to develop an electronic work flow process that would eliminate all idle time in the process and build in the implicit benefits of record keeping and retention of documents in an electronic format. Since the electronic solution became operational in the second quarter of 2010 it has paid for itself several times over. It has freed up the equivalent of 40 full time law enforcement officers time on an annual basis. Besides the monetary and fiscal savings, this solution is a perfect example of multiple agencies and jurisdictions working together with a spirit of partnership and collaboration to develop and adopt a technology solution that has made Law Enforcement more effective and efficient within the county.