Rapid City Police Department

Our work

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The Rapid City Police Department provides law enforcement to the 67,000+ residents of Rapid City, South Dakota. Their web site serves as a vital communication link with the city they serve. Residents can view recent police news, crime statistics, services provided to the community and learn more about how the department works. The police department also uses the site to advertise employment opportunities and provide feedback on police services.

Our Role

DakotaQ was responsible for the following components of the site:

This recent news section keeps visitors up to date on the latest police news.

CAPTCHA technology on feedback forms prevents "spam" and malicious form submissions.

A web interface to the Police Department's database allows residents to search the crime log.

Survey submissions and statistical results of this survey can be tracked by RCPD staff.

Their Problem

The Rapid City Police Department needed an effective tool to efficiently communicate with Rapid City residents. The department knew the web would be a cost-effective means of communication, but needed an easy way to keep residents informed of up-to-date crime news. They also wanted to hear from residents how they could best improve their service to the community.

Our Solution

DakotaQ Internet Services installed a recent news area on the Police Department site. Department staff can insert new articles into database through a control panel web page. The control panel allows department staff to determine how long the news article remains on their front page.

To address the problem of receiving feedback from residents, DakotaQ Internet Services created two feedback forms that use CAPTCHA technology to make sure the feedback is from a human being rather than a program run by spammers or hackers.

DakotaQ also worked with the department to create a quality assurance survey. Our survey web solution allows department staff to enter various types of survey questions into a database: essay, multiple choice (one answer), multiple select (multiple answers) and rankings. The form automatically enters submissions into a database. Department staff can then browse either a single submission or a report of statistics from all submissions.

What They Said

"DakotaQ took our old, tired website and totally revamped the design making it much more attractive and easy to navigate. Additionally, they have spent countless hours assisting us in adding content and suggesting changes to make our website better. We like the fact that DakotaQ is local and we can 'put a name with a face'. This personal touch makes it so nice when you’re to understand and resolve technical issues. To us, they’ve become more than just a vendor, they’ve become friends!"