BOCC greenlights Idaho Sheriff Connect app

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

The Bonner County board of commissioners voted unanimously Feb. 25 to enter into a one-year agreement with Idaho Sheriff Connect, authorizing OCV, LLC developers to tailor a facet of the app to the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office. The customized app will cost $8,467.25 for the first year, which will be split between the sheriff, marine division, dispatch and jail.

“[The app] allows us to push updates in the field on fires and accidents and things that are happening that have a lot to do with the public, and they need to know it,” said Sheriff Daryl Wheeler in his initial proposal on Feb. 11.

“What’s nice is, right now, if we push anything, it has to be on Nixle; and, also, we push things on our Facebook, and that means staff has to go and put together a notification, and it takes time, and usually it’s either later in the day or the next day when those notifications are sent out,” he added.

The Sheriff’s Office will continue to send alerts via Nixle, but the new app will allow it to post longer, more immediate notifications, as well as more general updates such as fraud warnings and job openings. Users can view updates, submit anonymous tips and keep track of the incarceration status of inmates at the county jail.

“You also have [the] ability to see all those that are in custody in the jail and the charges and a picture of that inmate that’s in there,” Wheeler said. “And what’s crucial about that [is] this app also allows you to sign up for the Victim Notification Services, which is called VINE.

“So if you see someone in custody and you want to follow that particular individual on the court dates and when they’re released, with this app, you can sign up immediately, and you don’t have to go through websites to do that,” he added.

Wheeler brought the agreement forward for approval during the Feb. 11 and 18 meetings, at which the commissioners tabled the decision to give themselves more time to explore the app’s privacy policy. Wheeler read aloud responses from the developers to the commissioners’ questions during the Feb. 25 meeting, beginning by clarifying that the app does not “share, sell or mine data.”

“The only data collected is anonymous usage information to help the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office improve its services and ensure the app remains as useful as possible to the community,” Wheeler stated.

What little data that is collected is stored using Amazon Web Services, “a highly secure, industry-standard cloud platform,” according to the developers’ statement.

Since Wheeler was able to address the board’s privacy concerns, the motion to enter into an agreement with Idaho Sheriff Connect passed unanimously.