Bonner County commissioners table sheriff's proposed mobile app pending written data-use answers

Bonner County commissioners on Wednesday delayed action on a proposed one-year agreement for a sheriff’s office mobile app after commissioners and members of the public requested written assurances about how the software developer handles end-user data.

The item on the agenda was an agreement with Idaho Sheriff's Connect to build and maintain a mobile app for one year, renewable annually, at a cost of $8,467.25. Sheriff Darryl Wheeler told commissioners the cost would be split among the sheriff’s office, the jail, the marine division and dispatch and that each has adequate funds to cover its share.

The app, as Wheeler described it in the meeting, is “a read-only app.” He said it would let deputies push photos and time-sensitive updates about fires, accidents and other public-safety events directly to app users, allow the public to view jail bookings and charges, and provide links to victim-notification services such as VINE and to file anonymous tips.

Members of the public sought more detail about privacy and data collection. “My concern … is personal data that may be collected because we know apps like to collect data, and then a lot of apps sell that data,” said a resident who asked the board to confirm whether the developer sold or otherwise shared user data.

Commissioner Cohen (identified in the transcript by last name) told the board he did not see answers to those questions in the materials provided and recommended the county ask the software developer to provide written confirmation about whether any personal data flows to the developer or third parties and how the developer protects that data. “If that’s important to you to have answered, I think that is a reasonable question,” Cohen said.

After discussion, the board voted to table the item and directed the sheriff to seek written information from the developer about the app’s handling of end-user data. Sheriff Wheeler said the county did not yet have a final contract to publish and would try to return the item to the board after obtaining the requested information.

The board did not award the contract at the meeting and recorded no final approval. The sheriff said the county’s share would be paid from existing accounts. Public speakers who supported the app noted its potential to speed public notifications; others pressed for assurances about data security and liability in the event of a breach.

Next steps: the sheriff’s office will request written answers from the software developer about personal-data use and protection; the item will return to a future agenda once the county receives that documentation.