Maximizing Your Own Crime Fighting Capabilities, Affordably 

Summary

The small municipal police department is one category of many that include more than 17,000 public safety and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and as you know, the quality of intelligence sharing between agencies varies greatly.

Some police forces benefit from close collaboration with federal agencies or fusion centers. But even if this collaborative link exists, it may not solve all of crime fighting capabilities your community demands.

Summary

Trade Shows

At trade shows we are dazzled with technology and tactical devices that can empower us to protect our officers and communities—but it all comes with a price tag, and even with federal grants, there are still tough choices to be made in the context of the yearly budget.

Data Driven

21st Century crime fighting will be driven by better data to drive more accurate investigations and proactive community policing, but smaller police departments may feel they’re on the outside looking in.

Q&A

Q: Can small municipalities marshal technology that turns them into 21st Century crime fighting units?

A: Yes they can, but only with a purposeful and efficient approach.

Data Integration

You’ve more than likely heard of the sophisticated data integration and analysis capabilities that help HQ and command make better sense of crime data, leading to quicker apprehension of suspects and proactive capabilities.

For Example

Increasing patrols in an area where particular crime patterns have been analyzed and pinpointed on the map in space and time.

Resource Allocation

Predictive analytics enables first responders and other public safety officers to best allocate limited resource pools by understanding where to maximize their efforts. Using pre-existing data, predictive analytics empowers leaders to be proactive, instead of reactive, while still providing quality services and making progress towards civil goals and objectives.

Pattern Recognition

This technology incorporates the individual and collective experience of officers into pattern recognition and prediction processes by allowing that experience to be translated into courses of action.

Analysis

Empowering police and other public safety personnel to capture and analyze critical information through the power of data integration, analysis and visualization means safer communities.

Adoption

But no small municipal entity wants to leverage their budget against a large, heavy IT project that may or may not support your agency’s prerogatives or the way your commanders and officers need to work together.

Factors

• Price tag

• Implementation

• Time

• Adoption (“Does anybody actually use this thing?”)

These are all factors to be aware of as you seek technological avenues for expanding intel, safety and crime fighting capabilities.

System Functionality

Nobody wants to be the agency that acquired a non-sustainable system that requires continual heavy support from your vendor, takes a long time to implement, and is designed by IT-centric people based on how they think police agencies should work, rather than how they actually work.

Partnering Up

Sophisticated, data-driven policing is within reach if your technology vendor acts like a partner and is willing to tailor their solution to maximize your budget dollar and fit the way you need to work.

And it may be more affordable than you think, providing that your technology partner can answer these tough questions:

Questions

• Can the system be customized to support the requirements of a specific organization? • What is the actual cost of acquiring and maintaining the system? Is the vendor completely transparent about these costs? • Will my officers, commanders and investigators actually use it?

Level the Playing Field

If the answer is “yes” across the board, you will be able to level the playing field between your agency and larger, better-funded organizations, as well as increase your collaborative power and ability to deliver on the promise of safer communities.