Every morning at 6, crime reports from overnight roll into Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott’s iPhone.The reports are complete and up-to-date. And while it’s not new police technology, it’s revolutionary to the Columbia Police Department, which has been playing catch-up to other law enforcement agencies when it comes to modernizing its crime data reporting.“That was inconceivable a year ago,” Scott said about his cell phone feeds.

In the past year, the department has spent more than $230,000 to upgrade its records-management system. That figure includes major computer software upgrades as well as the hiring of a crime analyst and an intelligence analyst for the department.

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