Month: April 2017

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

On April 17^th, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for a return to proactive policing in a USA Today op-ed. But what does that mean to law enforcement? A proactive approach to crime reduction requires the ability to track what the results of proactive policing deployments are – moving from the “old way” of hierarchy and individual response to a transformation that involves team coordination and real-time collaboration between patrol, command, crime analysts and investigators. Done right, coordination and collaboration can have a profound impact on the efficiency of the organization providing better crime reduction results, improved deployment of resources, and greater job satisfaction across the department.

In this model, a patrol officer enters his or her daily shift and either “receives” a roll call pass on and/or shift briefing. In some departments, this consists of a physical book of information that they flip through to get up to speed on everything from the silly to the serious including mission critical intel and information critical to their safety. From there, equipment is picked up and the officer is “on duty”. The problem? The pass down is passive. Officers sit and get briefed. The problem with this type of shift briefing is the following: Information is not searchable, if there is follow up it is not tracked; Information that is handed out like bulletins, BOLO’s or Attempt to I.D Intelligence is not managed digitally for a quick reference. In a real-life scenario, what happens 48 hours later when an officer sees someone in that bulletin that they received on Monday? What if it got lost? Where can they go and search for it? Are they still looking for the bad guy in the bulletin? Maybe he was arrested. How does the officer know?  Moreover, it is a rearview mirror look at what happened while the incoming officer’s environment runs in real time – and there’s the gap.

Of course, email updates are sent out; but, these too, are passive and easy to miss (especially when email is not targeted and related to an officer’s role). This ultimately puts the officer in a position where he or she is ill-equipped to face the specific dangers of the day, indefinitely delaying mission-critical information, and ultimately, making it more difficult to bring cases to a close and make it home safely at the end of the day.

Proactive Policing: Building the Bridge

In contrast, by using technology as a foundation for a more proactive approach to policing, officers will have the ability to “preload” their shift with everything they need to hit the ground running. From their mobile device they now have access to an officer safety alert via a mobile device as real time information is available. Even if nobody is physically available to pass down information, they still have it – information is being pushed out in real-time, even while other officers are still in the field. Solutions like SmartForce™ allow officers to stay-up-to-date and to push out updates of their own, making sure that if something important happens EVERYONE who needs to know about it DOES – often in seconds.

Officers are constantly connected not just to other patrol members but to crime analysts, commanding officers and investigators. All of this leads to increased collaboration, more efficient reporting and ultimately the most important benefit of all – crime REDUCTION and improved public safety.

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

Many people don’t realize that the true path to crime reduction doesn’t rest solely with solving crimes – instead, it’s with preventing crime altogether. Many modern-day police departments emphasize a proactive approach to the work they do on a daily basis–sadly this is sometimes easier said than done.

The Difficult Path to Proactive Policing

Many departments struggle to stay coordinated while generating a proactive response to crimes and similar issues. Why? They don’t have the resources, the manpower or the tools required of such an important task for several reasons:

• Patrol officers are often frustrated by the administrative work outside of calls for service. There are no quick and easy ways to report their activities effectively and efficiently during “uncommitted” time to their command staff. They are also frustrated with the volume and frequency of crime bulletins: most of the time they are not targeted. Bulletins are sent to everyone in an agency instead of the audience that it was intended for and lack a standard format.
• Command is frustrated by how to digest incomplete, inconsistent, and/or voluminous paper data into effective strategies.  They want to see real-time information and they want it NOW; they need it to report back to other members of command staff and the community. However, they often cannot because they lack the necessary actionable data required to see which strategies and responses generate the best results.
• Crime Analysts often feel like their role is downplayed, leaving them with a sense that they’re unappreciated. They’re also frustrated, as their crime analysis service and products go unused.
• Investigators lack the secure collaborative workspaces, document management, and case management tools needed to coordinate their efforts involving long-term complex investigations, involving multiple victims, multiple suspects and pieces of evidence.

All of this doesn’t just lead to work duplication and redundancy – it leads to a lack of coordination, and in-effective use of resources. This affects the morale of the department and can negatively impact the relationship with the communities they serve.

At Adventos, we believe in a world where these silos are shattered. We are creating a world for (and with) public safety organizations where collaboration is effortless and instant. A world where the right data is in front of the right people at exactly the right time- making sure all involved have what they need to keep us safe from harm. With every product, we release, this is our goal and we work tirelessly to achieve it.

In the next post, you will learn how SmartForce™ delivers a means to relieve the pain points stated above and ultimately, helps make communities safer and stronger.