Strategies for Public Sector Transformation 2000
Public/Private Partnerships
September 26-27, 2000 - Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Keynote Speakers cont'd

Roger W. Ham cont'd

Roger W. Ham is the keynote speaker for the Stategies for Public Sector Transformation 2000 conference to be held September 27, at the Victoria Conference Centre in Victoria, B.C.

The Los Angeles Police Department is one of the largest and most innovative law enforcement agencies in the world. Protecting and serving a tech-savvy, 24 hour trendsetter, Los Angeles is home to multi-national corporations, regional powerhouses, entertainment giants, and entrepreneurial startups. Poised at the edge of the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles is booming in international trade and in industries that will shape tomorrow, including media, entertainment, manufacturing, biotechnology, fashion, and more.

The Los Angeles Police Department must provide world class public safety service to an area of over 467 square miles with 3.5 million residents and another 1.5 million daily visitors. Los Angeles recognized that technology could leverage the critically limited resources of public safety and thus recommended the search and hiring of the first Chief Information Officer and civilian Deputy Chief of the Police Department.

Chief Ham has over 27 years experience in developing leading edge technologies. He started his career working for Mobil Oil Corporation as a project engineer managing command and control of field operations through automated systems. He was the Communications Administrator, Information Systems Manager, and Bureau Commander for over 21 years for the City Of Huntington Beach Police Department.

Chief Ham has an MBA from the University of Southern California and an Electrical Engineering degree from California State University at Long Beach. He is a registered Professional Engineer and a licensed general contractor in the State of California. He has served on many professional and business organizations and was a keynote speaker at the 1998 CIO Perspectives Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Issue

The Los Angeles Police Department was in technology chaos. There had been no single IT or communications technology organization in the department. One division provided communications, another was in charge of LAN/WAN and desktops, and yet another was in charge of mainframes, databases, and connectivity. Paperwork backlogs, project failures, lack of leadership, and lack of technology vision were awaiting the new CIO.

Accomplishments

• Chief Ham combined technology divisions to have a unified approach to LAPD technology. Under his leadership, the new Information Technology division has a synergistic approach to implementing technology where failure is not an option and projects must be brought to successful conclusion. This has been accomplished by establishing department-wide priorities, communicating a clear vision of mission and goals, and institutionalizing values in the IT organization. Chief Ham believes in developing employees to their fullest potential and holding all employees accountable to the highest standards of the LAPD. Chief Ham believes that developing partnerships between the City and private corporations will yield high performance during the creation of these complex projects. He has developed interest-based problem solving that focuses on the mutual interest of the partnership and has developed the long-term trust which is required for success.
  
• Chief Ham's largest project (250 million dollars) was a political football between the LAPD and City Hall. The project is to build two world class 50,000 square foot 911 Communications Centers which will be fault tolerant and will be able to withstand an 8.3 earthquake. Many city staffers wanted to re-direct the project funds to other areas. Chief Ham was able to hurdle the bureaucratic challenges and move the building construction project forward. The communications centers are scheduled to be open early 2002.
  
• Chief Ham implemented an aggressive plan with Motorola to deploy an 11 channel data system with 1350 Motorola Mobile Data Computers in LAPD Police Cruisers. He has implemented this system, which is the first step in capturing field data that will allow officers to write reports in the field. Chief Ham reasons "If I can improve the officers' efficiency by just 10%, then I have effectively put 1000 additional officers on the streets." These officers will be out in the communities they serve and will be viewed by citizens as the neighborhood protectors.
  
• Chief Ham has driven the expansion of LAN/WAN and Internet systems in all operational divisions. He has directed the development of an OC48 fiber optical network. This network will provide future growth for the LAPD into the year 2010 and will completed by April 2000. This connectivity has allowed the Information Technology Division to develop and roll out a detective case management system. This system helps detectives track and manage their cases on a city-wide basis. This information will be available to all detectives who may be pursuing similar suspects or cases.
  
• Chief Ham has worked extensively with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department and other city police departments towards a goal of regional communications and crime analysis. The new radio communications network, designed by Motorola Communications Incorporated, has been factory accepted and will be operational by August of 2000. The system will consist of 25 radio and microwave sites and will provide an expansion of over 128 conventional digital channels. It not only will provide Astro Digital technical advantages, but will be able to communicate with all police departments within the County of Los Angeles. This system provides world class communications to a world class city and is truly the heart of life on the beat in L.A.
  

Conclusion

Roger W. Ham has truly made a difference in the City of Los Angeles by maximizing the communications and IT investment which fulfills the department mission - to reduce crime and the fear of crime. Chief Ham has led his team to believe that individually someone may fail, but as a team no one will ever fail because in public safety, failure is not an option.

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