Overview
Developed a custom PHP and MySQL application for Valdosta State University’s Clery Report, providing a centralized system for managing and searching campus crime incident records.
The solution included an administrative management portal, a CSV-based data import process, and a public-facing report interface that allowed users to search reported incidents by date.
The Challenge
The University Police Department relied on a time-consuming process for recording crime incidents.
Officers initially documented incidents by hand during their shifts. Office administrators then transferred those handwritten records into the reporting system, a manual process performed twice daily.
Although allowing officers to enter records directly could reduce duplicate work, the police chief wanted to restrict backend access to designated administrators for security reasons.
A solution was needed that simplified incident reporting without expanding access to the application’s administrative interface.
The Solution
Developed a PHP and MySQL backend application that allowed authorized administrators to create, read, update, and delete reported crime incidents.
To streamline the reporting workflow, created a standardized spreadsheet template that officers could use to enter incident information directly.
Shift administrators could then save the completed spreadsheet as a CSV file and upload it through the application’s backend, reducing the need to manually transcribe handwritten reports.
The application also provided a searchable report interface that retrieved incident information from the database and allowed users to filter records by date.
Technical Implementation
The application combined database management, CSV processing, and a redesigned reporting workflow:
- Database architecture: Developed a MySQL-backed system for storing and retrieving campus crime incident records.
- Administrative portal: Built a PHP interface supporting create, read, update, and delete (CRUD) operations for incident reports.
- Spreadsheet template: Created a standardized format for officers to enter incident information without accessing the application backend.
- CSV import: Implemented functionality allowing authorized administrators to upload incident records from CSV files into the reporting system.
- Report search: Developed a database-driven interface allowing users to search reported incidents by date.
- Ongoing enhancements: Updated the application’s PHP code, database, and custom features as University Police Department requirements evolved.
Outcome
Delivered a centralized incident reporting application that improved how the University Police Department collected, managed, and presented crime incident information.
The spreadsheet-to-CSV workflow reduced duplicate manual data entry while preserving restricted administrative access to the backend. The application also provided a searchable interface for accessing reported incidents.
The application continued to evolve through additional features and improvements during my tenure at Valdosta State University. Although the website has since been redesigned, portions of my original implementation appear to remain in use. I am no longer responsible for its maintenance.