A new, centralized records system for Dakota County law enforcement groups took another step forward Wednesday afternoon, as officials announced the deployment of nearly $1 million in federal funding for the program.

The new records management system being developed — Criminal Justice Network — would allow agencies to integrate information more easily, and modernize how law enforcement groups share, view and record information with each other.

The funding was jointly announced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar at the Safety and Mental Health Alternative Response Training (SMART) Center in Inver Grove Heights, with several law enforcement officials from participating Dakota County agencies also on hand.

Of the 12 total law enforcement agencies in Dakota County, nine have signed on to the new records system: the Dakota County sheriff’s office plus the Burnsville, Farmington, Hastings, Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, South St. Paul and West St. Paul police departments.

The system is expected to go live in early 2026.

Currently, police departments can have different and sometimes outdated record systems from one another, causing difficulty when researching a possible emergency call in the field. It can allow agencies to be unaware of a person’s background or history when responding to a call.

In the office, it can cause situations where data is entered twice or in hard to find fields.

Rosemount Police Chief Mikael Dahlstrom theorized that officers want to have as much information as possible when responding to an emergency call. For example, he said, as an officer responds to an emergency, having the background of the people involved is vital to the officer’s response.

The system can also allow the county attorney’s office to receive the information, Criminal Justice Network Executive Director Mary Cerkvenik said, giving all areas of law enforcement real-time data.

“This is a game changer,” Cerkvenik said.

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