From the Field to the Facility: A Unified Sheriff’s Office
Organization Profile
- Population: 708,000+
- Department Spotlight: Lake County Sheriff’s Office
- Tyler Excellence Award Category: Operational Efficiency
With 27 years of government experience in various capacities, Bernard Malkov of Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Illinois, offers a unique perspective on balancing public safety efforts with technological advancements. Malkov started as a community service officer, transitioned into information technology (IT), and eventually found himself at the sheriff’s office as IT Operations Manager. “I have the best of both worlds, supporting both public safety and IT,” he said about his current role.
his current role. This blend of law enforcement service and technology has kept Malkov on his toes and hungry for solving new challenges — something that the public safety and corrections industries offer every day. In Lake County, the day-to-day operations were becoming increasingly intertwined, from the front lines to the jail facility. “We needed a ‘suite of suites’ that talked to each other enterprise-wide. Not something siloed, but something that brought all of law enforcement together holistically,” Malkov recalled.
On a mission to operational efficiency in the sheriff’s office, supporting the interest of the community, offenders, and staff alike, the department earned a 2025 Tyler Excellence Award. Their story is one of unity, connecting the county’s corrections operations through integrated technology for decades to come.
The Challenge: The Fallout of an Antiquated and Siloed Corrections System
“Our old jail system was very antiquated and siloed,” explained Malkov. The county relied heavily on manual paper workflows both in the field and at the jail facility. As a result, staff encountered duplicate data entry during arrest, booking, and inmate management processes. From CAD to RMS to corrections, the sheriff’s office lacked the functionality to serve today’s modern environment.
The Solution: An Integrated Corrections Suite Spanning Law Enforcement to Jail
With a corrections suite integrated from the onset of dispatch to the final release, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is now better positioned to shift toward paperless operations.
Officers initiate arrest reports in the field, and upon arrival, booking data is scanned or synced to the jail facility. This near-paperless workflow eliminates duplicate data entry and enables officers to book more individuals in less time, ultimately allowing them to return to the field where they’re needed most.
Once booking is complete, the pretrial release department has the accurate information needed to complete risk assessments. And during incarceration, staff have increased transparency into population management, including inmate schedules, classifications, and locations.
The Result: Corrections Efficiency, Accuracy, and Transparency
A seamless flow of information has impacted how field officers communicate with the jail, how the jail communicates with the court, and how the public interacts with the system. For example, Malkov highlighted, “The court will send us electronic releases, bond information, or court information. Then we send necessary information back to the court for their system.” Because data is shared, this connected justice workflow enables higher efficiency, accuracy, and transparency across agencies. The community also has visibility into who is in jail and why through a public dashboard, which strengthens their trust and confidence in the judicial system.
However, with new systems comes tremendous change. For Lake County, they embraced it. Malkov suggested it was surprisingly easy to get staff on board, and they appreciated the clean and integrated experience. “[Enterprise Corrections] was a positive step forward for staff to have tools to make their job easier,” said Malkov.
[Enterprise Corrections] was a positive step forward for staff to have tools to make their job easier.
Bernard Malkov
IT Operations Manager
Lake County Sheriff’s Office
Technology is a reminder that we live in a state of constant change. As a final piece of advice to other facilities, Malkov reminded us, “It’s okay to change. Staff will be okay.” In fact, they will be better for it.
The Future: A Strategy to Fill the Labor Gap and Entice the Workforce
The growing workforce gap in corrections professions has come to a head in recent years, and agencies must reassess their staffing strategies. With 60 officers down, Malkov believes their modern technology infrastructure will not only attract the workforce but also entice them to stay, giving them a clear advantage in the competitive workforce landscape.
With its integrated corrections suite, Lake County is already on the path of enhanced efficiency, accuracy, and transparency. Now, it’s a matter of what their unified department accomplishes next.