Council committee advances case‑management software for police oversight and a data‑analysis contract to support new auditing capacity

The Budget & Finance Committee advanced a package of items intended to give the Akron Citizens Police Oversight Board and the Office of the Independent Auditor database and data‑analysis tools to track use‑of‑force incidents and citizen complaints.

Verint case‑management system: Auditor’s office staff and IT told the committee they issued an RFP and received seven responses, narrowed the field and interviewed finalists; they recommended Verint Americas to provide a three‑year case‑management and database system for the Citizens Police Oversight Board. Staff said the purchase will cost a one‑time implementation budgeted at $100,000 (funded in the finance department budget, not the oversight board’s budget) and that Verint’s product will let the oversight office ingest documents, photos and PDFs and produce dashboards and trend reports for analysis.

Complaint intake and public portal: Presenters said the Verint package can accept public complaint submissions through a web form and route them into the system. The system will allow the oversight office to analyze use‑of‑force incidents, spot patterns, and produce dashboards or reports for public and council review.

Data analysis contract in lieu of hire: Committee members also considered a proposed contract with JNP Industries for data‑analysis services to support the oversight office. Staff said they had budgeted for a part‑time employee but were unable to hire a suitable candidate from the approved candidate lists; they issued a procurement and received 16 respondents, interviewed finalists and recommended JNP for an initial one‑year contract. Staff said the 2025 budget included about $40,000 for the originally planned part‑time hire; the contract will be managed to remain within current 2025 budget constraints while staff evaluate needs for 2026.

Council questions and use cases: Council members asked whether submissions would still require manual upload (staff said initial use will require manual uploading of historic files but the new system will accept digital intake forms), how the oversight office will publish dashboards and annual reports (staff said dashboards will be developed for public viewing and the new database should make annual reports more efficient), and whether the contract replaces or supplements the planned employee (staff said this is a one‑year contract with an option to reevaluate).

Committee action: Committee members voted to suspend the rules and advance the Verint implementation. The JNP contract was also advanced after discussion; the committee recorded a roll call on the latter and approved the motion 4–1 (one council member voted no). Staff said both pieces should move forward quickly to align system implementation with staffing and reporting timelines.