Drug Software Program Aids Special Investigations Unit

For a number of years, the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office participated in a multicounty drug task force program. In 2004, when it appeared that program funding might be reallocated, Sheriff Ray Stewart began working with County Judge Chad Adams and District Attorney Joe Grubbs to create a full-time Special Investigations Unit within the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office.
Lieutenant Tommy Hale, who had 20 years of narcotics enforcement experience at the state and federal levels, was chosen to head the newly formed six-person Special Investigations Unit. As the team began to take shape, a high-priority item was determining if any commercially available software would meet its needs, as well as interact with the software already used by the jail and the sheriff’s office. It was quickly determined that no such program existed.
Chief Deputy Charles Sullins then contacted the software provider for the sheriff’s office, Government Services Automation (GSA), and its Texas-based affiliate for law enforcement, Law Enforcement Professional (LEP), well known for its specialty programs and ability to customize existing software. LEP met with Sullins and Hale on several occasions to identify key elements that needed to be built into the software in order for his office to manage and track cases with maximum efficiency. Unit officers also met with LEP programmers. These face-to-face meetings allowed the programmers to fully understand the officers’ needs.
During the next few months, segments of the drug software program were delivered to the sheriff’s office for review, and recommendations were made to Stewart. Only minor revisions and additions were required. When the program was completed, it provided the drug unit with everything the officers wanted.
Today, Ellis County is taking full advantage of the product it helped to design.
“The program is very beneficial to our operations and has made our job much easier,” Sullins said.
Every module