Houston City Council approved the extension of the use of its current Records Management System, or RMS, for the Houston Police Department, a system that some council members say needs to be upgraded.
RMS is the system that the HPD uses for any and all data that the department has, including when officers take reports on the scene, when investigators pull information, crime statistics and analyses.
Some context
The current RMS is antiquated, council member Abbie Kamin said, and she supports the extension, but would like to know when it will switch over to a newer, updated system.
“We continue to see additional extensions put on for large sums of money,” Kamin said during the meeting. “So a projection of how much longer we think this is going to take and how much this will cost ... the cost continues to grow, so having a full picture of what we’re looking at will be very helpful.”
Mayor John Whitmire said that the extension is to get the city through the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
More details
The current RMS became a focal point when former HPD Chief Troy Finner announced in 2024 that the department had over 260,000 suspended cases due to miscoding cases under “lack of personnel” in the system.
Kamin said the issues with the system go beyond the miscoding issues that led to the suspended cases.
“There are a lot of things that we cannot do because of how antiquated the system is,” she said. “Even just streamlining data pulls.”
Kamin said she and council member Amy Peck have pushed for changes since they got into office, but it keeps getting pushed back.
“The priority is ensuring HPD has a system that improves efficiency, reduces backlogs and strengthens public safety,” Kamin said. “That’s why council member Peck and I have been working to bring forward a new system for so long.”
Kamin added that implementation costs and timelines can shift when challenges, whether technical, operational or integration, arise, but rising costs warrant consideration.
What’s next
Kamin said she is currently awaiting a timeline from the administration outlining when the city will be able to transition to a new system, how many additional extensions may be required and the costs involved.
