Adventos – SmartForce®’s Blog

A Blueprint for Communication and Collaboration in Policing: Port St. Lucie’s Journey with SmartForce Ops Discussions

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Introduction:

Port St. Lucie is a vibrant Florida city boasting of rapid economic growth, cultural richness, and a firm commitment to public safety. It is the financial hub of the Treasure Coast and the sixth-largest city in Florida, with a population of about 260,000 residents. The Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD), led by Police Chief Richard R. Del Toro Jr., is at the forefront of ensuring public safety in the community. The department has adopted stratified policing, a proactive and data-driven crime reduction approach emphasizing transparency, accountability, and community involvement.

Stratified Policing: A Model of Excellence

The PSLPD pioneered the stratified policing model in the late 1990s, becoming a cornerstone of modern law enforcement strategies. This model is based on problem-oriented policing and prioritizes proactive measures and comprehensive data to tackle crime efficiently. The model has been adopted nationally and internationally, shaping the future of policing. Dr. Roberto Santos and Dr.Rachel Santos detail this model in their foundational text “Stratified Policing: An Organizational Model for Proactive Crime Reduction and Accountability.”

SmartForce Ops Discussions: A Tool for Communication and Collaboration

The PSLPD integrated the SmartForce® Ops Discussions app into their daily workflow to optimize their operations. This tool centralizes all critical information, from incident details to overarching crime trends and specific policing projects. The app eliminates the chaos of disorganized email threads and outdated bulletin boards.

With Operations Discussions, teams across crime analysis, patrol, and specialty units can effortlessly share bulletins, links, photos, and videos, all within a user-friendly application. This streamlining of resources has helped to significantly enhance collaboration and how information is shared, allowing officers to dedicate more time to the communities they serve.

Impact and Efficiency

Since implementing SmartForce® Ops Discussions in 2014, the PSLPD has reaped tangible benefits, especially in how Stratified Policing is administered at their agency. The enhanced communication facilitated by the app goes beyond the confines of traditional formats like email, fostering a collaborative environment that is both dynamic and secure.

The app’s robust tracking capabilities offer a comprehensive view of officer activity, from time spent on specific projects to the outcomes of those initiatives, such as arrests, contacts, and citations. These success metrics reflect the department’s dedication to accountability and transparency.

“Despite a 41.1% population surge in the last decade, Port St. Lucie has reduced its crime rate by 45.7%. Our effective policing strategies and integration of SmartForce® Ops Discussions have played a vital role in this achievement, making us one of the safest large cities in the nation.”
PSLPD Chief of Police Robert R. Del Toro, Jr.

Conclusion: A Vision for the Future

The PSLPD’s successful integration of SmartForce® Ops Discussions underscores the transformative power of technology in enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement. The department’s journey is not just about adaptation but also innovation. The PSLPD’s story can serve as a model for other departments to adopt similar tools that can foster improved communication, operations, community relations, and public safety.

Learn more about how SmartForce® can help your agency improve internal communication and collaboration.

Transforming Police Work: How SmartForce Enhanced Crime-Solving in Carlsbad, NM

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Challenge Faced by Carlsbad, New Mexico PD:

Several burglaries had the Carlsbad community on edge. Traditional information-sharing methods proved inadequate, leading to slow progress in solving crimes.

SmartForce in Action:

A citizen’s alert about a suspicious vehicle was logged into the SmartForce Shift Briefing App., a game-changer in how police information is shared and accessed. Unlike the previous reliance on emails or briefings, SmartForce ensured that crucial details were readily available to all officers.

Breakthrough Moment:

Two months later, an observant officer matched a vehicle to the description in SmartForce. This quick access to accurate information led to a traffic stop, unveiling burglary tools and stolen items. The suspect’s confession to seven burglaries was a significant win for the Carlsbad PD and the community.

5 Key Learnings from SmartForce Implementation:

Collaborative information sharing boosts responsiveness and valuable crime intel.
High visibility across the agency eliminates redundant efforts.
Real-time updates on SmartForce foster recognition and case closure.
Organized data leads to informed decisions and lawful arrests.
The District Attorney praised the detailed data capture, vital for criminal prosecution.

Take it From the Top:

“Officers love the search engine. It is much better than email and makes searching for intel fast and easy.”
Carlsbad Police Chief Shane Skinner

Conclusion:

SmartForce turns information into actionable intelligence, leading to safer communities and more efficient policing.

Discover how SmartForce can empower your law enforcement agency. Start by scheduling a live demo.

Join us on the upcoming February 14, 2024 webinar, “From Data to Decisions: How the Prosper, TX Police Department is Utilizing an Integrated Solution to Drive Policing Strategies.”

Evidence for Change: Exploring the Impact of Stop and Contact Data

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Data has become critical in modern-day policing and can no longer be ignored. The title of this blog, “Evidence for Change,” highlights the need for a shift in how we collect, analyze, and share stop-and-contact data. This data consists of information from police-community interactions and can potentially transform policing practices.

The Need for Change

While everyone agrees on the importance of comprehensive data, it is critical to standardize the methods for collecting and interpreting data. Research, such as the study by Pierson et al., demonstrates the challenges and complexities involved. It is difficult to confirm or disprove disparities in traffic stop data due to the lack of a single science-based analysis method. This ambiguity underscores the need for change.

The Power of Data

Data is not just a collection of numbers but rather a story waiting to be told. Stop-and-contact data can uncover patterns and trends that may go unnoticed, answering questions like, “Do traffic stops disproportionately affect specific communities? Are there disparities in outcomes based on race or ethnicity?” However, the true potential of this data can only be realized if it is gathered accurately, comprehensively, and analyzed effectively.

In addition to its community impact, this data can improve officers’ well-being. The types of contacts officers engage in directly impact their mental and physical health. Exposure to high-risk situations and certain types of contact, such as domestic disputes, violent crimes, and overdoses, can lead to officer fatigue and stress. This nuanced data can provide invaluable insights for agencies to tailor their wellness programs to their officers’ needs.

Moreover, the knowledge gained from this data can be utilized to inform officer training programs better. Understanding the situations that officers frequently encounter allows for more targeted training, equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need to handle these scenarios effectively and safely.

What Leaders Can Do Now

Instead of reacting to state legislation mandating stop-and-contact data collection and reporting, the policing profession must take the lead in adopting standardized data collection and analysis procedures. Transparency is not just a buzzword; it’s a necessity. Sharing these insights with the community fosters trust and invites public scrutiny, which is essential for accountability. Collecting data is only one piece of the puzzle. It is important for police leaders to understand what the data means as it relates to how they are serving their communities. The day will come when someone outside your agency, whether the media or a community group, will tell their version of a story based on data. Collecting, analyzing, and understanding your agency’s data will ensure you can share the real story with your community and team members.

The Role of Community Dialogue and Earning Trust

Sharing data insights opens the door for a deeper dialogue about policing practices and their impact on the community. It allows for a more nuanced discussion that goes beyond surface-level statistics. This dialogue is crucial for meaningfully interpreting the data and shaping effective policies. In any relationship, open communication and transparency are a must in order to earn trust. This applies to the relationship that exists between police agencies and the communities they serve.

Conclusion

The complexities of stop-and-contact data collection and analysis are undeniable but not insurmountable. By adopting a multi-faceted approach to data collection, ensuring transparency, and engaging the community in dialogue, we can pave the way for better-informed policing practices. The evidence for change is clear; it’s time we act on it.

Authored by Chief Jack Cauley, Castle Rock, Colorado Police Department, in collaboration with the team at SmartForce®.

Note: The Castle Rock Police Department utilizes CitizenContact, a product of SmartForce, to collect, report, and analyze their stop and contact data. This collaboration has been instrumental in enhancing our understanding and application of data-driven approaches in law enforcement. Contact us to learn more.

Introducing the Free Officer Business Card at IACP 2023

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

As we prepare for the IACP conference this week, we’re excited to introduce our latest offering that redefines law enforcement community engagement: the Officer Business Card feature, available in our new CitizenContact Connect Subscription. This feature is not just an addition to our platform; it’s a transformative tool designed to facilitate direct and open communication between law enforcement agencies and the community.

Direct Citizen-Officer Engagement: The Future is Digital

In an age where everything is going digital, why should engagement between citizens and law enforcement be any different? CitizenContact’s Officer Business Card makes this digital leap effortless and meaningful. After any interaction with an officer, citizens can easily save the officer’s contact information directly to their mobile devices, fostering a level of accessibility and transparency that has been difficult to achieve — until now.

Why Go Digital? The Unmatched Flexibility

Traditional business cards have limitations — they’re easily lost, and the information on them is static. With CitizenContact’s digital Officer Business Card, officers can choose which information to display, providing a level of flexibility that traditional cards can’t match. It adapts to the needs of the community and the officers working with them to keep their community safe.

More Than Just Community Engagement

While the primary purpose of the Officer Business Card is to enhance community engagement, its utility goes beyond that. Officers can use their digital business cards as an effective networking tool at training events and conferences, including the upcoming IACP 2023. It’s not just about community relations; it’s about building a stronger, more connected law enforcement community.

Free for All U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies

At SmartForce® we believe in using technology to bring communities and law enforcement agencies closer together. The Officer Business Card isn’t just cost-effective; it’s FREE for all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. as part of our new CitizenContact Connect Subscription.

Don’t Miss Out!

As we gear up for IACP 2023, we invite all law enforcement agencies to sign up and start using their digital Officer Business Cards. Come see us at booth 1742 to learn more, or sign up today to experience the future of community engagement.

Empowering Front Line Supervisors and Command Staff with CitizenContact: A Guide to Data-Driven Policing

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Law enforcement agencies are currently navigating an unprecedented workforce crisis. The recruitment and retention issues have escalated to critical levels, creating a ripple effect that impacts everything from community safety to officer morale. In this challenging landscape, understanding your agency’s unique culture and your officers’ day-to-day operations is not just beneficial — it’s essential for survival and growth.
That’s where CitizenContact comes in. Designed to simplify stop-and-contact data collection and analysis, CitizenContact provides a data-driven lens through which front-line supervisors and command staff can gain invaluable insights into their agency’s operations. This information is instrumental in fostering a collaborative relationship between law enforcement and the community, thus addressing the challenges that make recruitment and retention increasingly difficult.
In this blog, we’ll explore how CitizenContact equips front-line supervisors with the tools to lead effectively, make informed decisions, and turn current challenges into opportunities for meaningful change.

The Workforce Crisis: Why Data Matters Now More Than Ever

The current workforce crisis in law enforcement is not merely a challenge; it’s a pressing reality that front-line supervisors must navigate daily. According to the Police Executive Research Forum (2023), Critical Issues in Policing Series: Responding to the Staffing Crisis: Innovations in Recruitment and Retention,

“The challenge is far greater for understaffed departments, which have had to distribute undesirable shifts such as nights, weekends, and holidays among a smaller group of officers. Such assignments can significantly affect officers’ well-being, productivity, and commitment to the department, especially if officers already have mandated overtime and feel stretched thin due to low staffing levels”
Police Executive Research Forum (2023)

In such a climate, the added stress and fatigue can ripple through the department, potentially impacting community interactions and the overall effectiveness of law enforcement initiatives. This situation exacerbates existing challenges, making it even more crucial for supervisors to have actionable insights into their team’s operations and performance.

This is where CitizenContact comes into play as an invaluable asset. Understanding that the role of a supervisor is already multifaceted and demanding, CitizenContact aims to simplify one critical aspect: data collection and analysis. Our platform provides a comprehensive operational picture that is not just a collection of data but a narrative that can help drive informed decision-making.

Streamlining Decision-Making

With features like Advanced Filtering and Analytics Dashboards, CitizenContact allows supervisors to get a granular view of various metrics — be it the types of incidents officers are responding to, the demographics of the stops, or trends in the use of force. In workforce management, such insights are not just beneficial; they are essential.

For instance, by analyzing stop-and-contact data, supervisors can identify patterns that may indicate increased stress levels or fatigue among officers. Are there upticks in certain types of incidents during particular shifts? Is use of force increasing during overtime hours? These are questions that CitizenContact can help answer, providing an opportunity for preemptive action before issues escalate.

Enhancing Resource Allocation

Given the staffing challenges, optimizing resource allocation becomes a linchpin for operational effectiveness. CitizenContact’s analytics can help supervisors understand where their limited resources are most needed and how they can be most effectively utilized. The platform’s Groups and Areas features enable supervisors to dissect data based on customized groupings like shifts, beats, or specialized units, aiding in more targeted resource distribution.

Fostering Officer Well-Being

At the end of the day, the most valuable resource any law enforcement agency has is its people. By leveraging the data-driven insights provided by CitizenContact, supervisors can make more informed operational decisions and contribute to their well-being. Acknowledging the human aspect in the numbers can go a long way in building a culture of trust and accountability, crucial elements in retaining officers during these challenging times.

In summary, the workforce crisis has made the role of data in law enforcement more critical than ever. CitizenContact equips front-line supervisors with the tools they need to navigate this complex landscape, making data less of an abstract concept and more of a practical solution to real-world challenges.

Closing Thoughts

In states where stop-and-contact data collection and reporting are mandated, the administrative burden can be overwhelming for already stretched-thin agencies. CitizenContact alleviates this pressure by making the collection and reporting process compliant, streamlined, and intuitive. This leaves front-line supervisors and command staff free to focus on what truly matters — the insights and actionable data that can drive transformative change in their agencies.

In these challenging times, it’s crucial to have tools that not only meet legislative requirements but also contribute to the larger mission of making the community a safer place. By providing a comprehensive, data-driven overview of daily police activities, CitizenContact enables law enforcement agencies to turn current challenges into opportunities for meaningful improvement within their ranks and in their communities. It’s not just about surviving the workforce crisis; it’s about thriving despite it, leveraging data to forge a path to shared expectations between law enforcement, the community, and elected officials.

To learn more, click HERE to request a demo and visit our website.

Colorado Agencies’ New Contact Collection Timeline Moved Up 8 Months and SmartForce® is Helping to Meet Fast Approaching Deadline

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

Law enforcement organizations manage change and comply with new laws all the time and it’s not always easy. In Colorado, Senate Bill 217 requires all agencies to report citizen contact collections originally slated to be in effect in January of 2023. A more recent bill, House Bill 1250 from the last legislature moves that deadline to April of 2022. That means local jurisdictions have about 3 months to be ready for full compliance, 8 months sooner than originally expected. To support local law enforcement, SmartForce® built a brand-new tool called CitizenContact for the specific purpose of collecting contact data and submitting it in the required format to the state. If you are a Colorado Chief or Law Enforcement leader, here are 3 reasons CitizenContact is right for your agency:

We’ve taken the guesswork out of compliance for you.
It’s FREE!
It’s a tool that simplifies data transparency and helps build community trust.

We’ve taken the guesswork out of compliance for you. There are plenty of new requirements to be aware of in SB 217 and other laws. We built a system that complies to the letter of the law. Our team is made of former law enforcement officers, compliance experts, and knowledgeable computer engineers. SmartForce’s products are the result of these expertise, ensuring they meet your needs. For example, CitizenContact© is made so that the data your officers collect is the right data as mandated by SB 217, accessible while they are still on site and shareable with the citizen contact they made. Most importantly, the data is exported to the Division of Criminal Justice in compliance with their format (JSON, Flat file, shared securely, etc.). We are in the weeds with you to navigate through these complex changes and will do it right.

It’s FREE! Law Enforcement Officers are constantly doing more with less – meeting new mandates with no new resources. Regardless of the size of your agency, chances are you don’t have enough resources to quickly bring your whole department in line with all the requirements the way you would want. That is why we are offering CitizenContact for free. You have plenty of updating to do, let this advanced tool be the easy decision for contact data collection. We believe every agency should have access to the best technology that helps them fight crime and become more data-driven.

It’s a tool that simplifies data transparency and helps build community trust. With so many details to worry about and managing organization-wide change, it is not always easy to see how this change can serve your agency. Data can be a powerful tool to communicate about policing with the public, as well as combating crime. After all, submitting the new contact data in a specific way and format to the state really is about being able to see the picture of what is happening on the ground with officers. Those pictures include how hard officers work and the community members they help.

When SB 217 was originally passed, we along with you thought we had until January of 2023 to figure out new solutions to the mandates. Then, HB 1250 moved that timeline up and our deadline moved up along with yours. I’m quite proud of how agile our team was in responding to this new timeline and got the application ready and tested by local jurisdictions. The team has had to monitor changes in laws through the development process and will continue to do so. The more Colorado agencies we have using CitizenContact, the more we believe the state will be ready to meet not only the requirements, but also the call for more transparency and public trust.

The CitizenContact application has already been piloted in dozens of Colorado Law Enforcement agencies. Chief Jack Cauley of Castle Rock Police Department endorses it for his neighboring jurisdictions because it is “very easy to use and streamline[s] citizen collection per Senate Bill 217.” This kind of close collaboration with local jurisdictions is what our team thrives on. We believe our software products like CitizenContact have a vital role to play in the larger context of ethical policing that engages the community as partners. These are the larger conversations that SmartForce wants to be engaged in with you in the coming weeks.

For now, we know CitizenContact is saving jurisdictions time and we are curious to learn exactly how much time. Have you tried using another method in your agency to collect contact data? How much time and what challenges have you run into? What other functionalities are you wishing you had? We have already gotten requests for use of advanced use of force tracking, complaints management and more. We always want to learn about what’s going on in your agency, so we can better meet your needs.

To get started with CitizenContact please contact us at info@smartforcetech.com

Excellence in Policing Award

Brian Mc Grew
VP of Education

Congratulations to Colonel Nathaniel McQueen, Delaware State Police on their Excellence in Policing Award.

The Center for Police Practice, Policy and Research gives this award once a year to a current sworn police officer, supervisor, commander, or executive who is a leader in their agency and has been a champion for implementation of innovative strategies that bring about change and improve policing.

Learn more here.

Taking the Leap into Insights-Led Policing

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

Law enforcement organizations face many multi-faceted challenges every day. The challenge of using data that is now widely available to be more effective and proactive can be a daunting task that gets overshadowed by other priorities. However, once the benefits of becoming more insights-led are examined, no organization can afford to not take advantage of the richness of information and analytics. Some police departments have taken the leap into gathering insights from their data to get more crime solving and prevention results. Because the insights-led approach is a continuous cycle of learning and improving, all departments and organizations can use more support in terms of becoming more insights-led.

Adventos wants all law enforcement organizations to be able to take advantage of the richness in insights and be equipped with the necessary tools to be insights-led. A recent white paper Getting Real About Insights-Led Policing is designed to present the case for utilizing an insights-led approach to policing, sharing real world anecdotes, and providing concrete steps to taking the leap. We want it to be a relevant resource for commanders and also a conversation starter with your teams about how you can take the leap into using more and better insights.

You can follow experiences of the Port St. Lucie Police Department and Chief John Bolduc to see how it plays out in a fast changing city to distill insights, apply it to all types of challenges, learn from each cycle, and reiterate for the next cycle. Chief Bolduc is realistic about the work that it takes to be true to the insights-led model, but he is enthusiastic about the results they have been able to achieve with this model of policing. He attributes the 60% reduction in property crimes to better use of insights and combining it with other tried and true policing strategies. You also won’t want to miss the colorful and “insightful” voice in which Chief Bolduc recounts his wisdom and experiences.

The free white paper lays out the characteristics and benefits of an insights-led organization. More importantly, it gives specific strategies to use mechanisms and processes you are already using like the SARA (scanning, analysis, response, and assessment) Model to get more results with insights. The SARA Model and the insights-led approach are both natural learning processes, but the intelligence that can be gathered and used with insights takes policing to the next level of effectiveness and efficiency. There are ways of ensuring accountability by implementing Stratified Policing Model to share insights from crime analysts to every level of the force and directing specific action steps to the right level of command.

SmartForce® is an indispensable tool in the insights-led approach because it is designed for modern day policing necessities such as data safety compliance and real-time sharing of information; but it also enables true collaboration within your force. With these key pieces and other fundamental components in the white paper, we lay a roadmap for you to explore becoming more insights-led regardless of where you are today in the spectrum of being only data-led to becoming more insights-led.

The first step in taking the leap into insights-led policing is downloading the white paper and sharing it with your force. As you digest it and apply it to your own work, please let us know what other resource, information, or tool we can help provide for your insight-led journey.

The Three Critical Keys to Success in Reducing Crime

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

There are several core challenges that often stand between law enforcement organizations and their quest to improve crime reduction efforts in their communities. Selecting the right strategy (or even blend of strategies) that will address their unique problems is a major hurdle to overcome. Likewise, staffing, culture, and measuring execution in a meaningful and long-term way are also common obstacles.

While it’s certainly true that there is no “one size fits all” approach to crime reduction, there are a few core concepts that can address many of these obstacles, and help an agency accomplish its goals simultaneously.

Based on our experience, countless conversations with your peers, and case studies, we have fast-tracked the top Three Critical Keys to Success when it comes to reducing crime:

Accountability
Communication
Collaboration

It All Begins with Accountability

One of the most important factors required to reduce crime has to do with adopting a true accountability mindset for your proactive policing efforts. The problem is that in many agencies, accountability is something that “rolls downhill” – meaning that responsibilities are often pushed down to the people who are working beneath those they were given to. A Chief gives an assignment to a Commander, who assigns it to a Captain, who delegates it to a Lieutenant, etc.

Instead, accountability needs to be shared across all levels of the organization, not just the last person it was delegated to. More than that, a successful crime reduction strategy depends on accountability being assigned based on the complexity of the crime. The more significant the crime, the higher the rank of the officer to which it is assigned. These are two critical perspectives that any agency of any size can easily adopt by sharing accountability and assigning by complexity.

Communication is King

Equally important is the concept of communication – something that most agencies could stand to improve in at least some ways. If your agency wants to focus on robberies and burglaries, for example, this needs to be communicated to everyone. This communication extends to the officers out on patrol as well as the crime analysts who are focused on data collection and the investigators who need to know what their priorities needs to be in a given day.

Likewise, actionable data must be communicated if crime reduction techniques are to be successful. Everyone in an agency needs to know what is happening, why it’s happening, and they need essential community information to gain critical perspectives on the people and groups they’re dealing with.

Remember, knowing what to communicate is often just as essential as knowing how to communicate within your agency.

The Power of Collaboration

Finally, we arrive at collaboration – or in other words, the realization that decision makers within an organization need the most accurate, actionable insights to make the best decisions possible at all times. Key data needs to be top of mind, represented visually and presented in a way that can be easily organized, searched and accessed.

Equally important is the realization that decision makers exist at every level in an agency – not just at the top. Once all of the decision makers have the knowledge they need, they’ll be in a better position to prioritize their time and respond in the right way to their own unique piece of the crime reduction puzzle.

If you’d like to find out more information about the Three Critical Keys to Success in terms of reducing crime, download our new eBook: “The Most Powerful Guide to Reducing Crime – 3 Keys to Success.”

Five Major Elements to Improve Communication between Patrol and Investigations using SmartForce®

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

Communication is a critical part of all Patrol and Investigations’ efforts in any law enforcement agency, regardless of its size. But achieving this is rarely as simple as flipping on a proverbial light switch. Not only do you need a culture where communication is prioritized, but one where a sense of openness is unlocked through the most important technique of all: improved and organic collaboration across the agency.

Luckily, getting to this point is not as difficult as one might think. If you truly want to improve Patrol and Investigations’ communication and empower collaboration, there are Five Key Elements that are required and can be easily accomplished using SmartForce® an Agency Management System designed specifically for Police Departments.

1. Focus on Shift Briefings

In many ways, shift briefings are where communication and collaboration intersect in a meaningful way. Utilizing SmartForce, Investigations can post a briefing item to advise Patrol what they are working on, and what assistance Patrol can provide. An example of this idea in action: Detectives working a bank robbery series can share the bulletin and ask Patrol to conduct specific tasks such as locating an identified suspect and conduct a road interview or bring them in talk with Detectives. Detectives can also share progress on the investigation and provide Patrol with the direct point of contact for any new information.

2. The Power of Operations Discussions

Along the same lines, SmartForce facilitates Operations Discussions, which go a long way towards breaking down those information silos that far too many agencies still must contend with. Investigations and Patrol can all collaborate on an issue (like a crime hotspot) in a way where everyone sees what individuals are doing. Patrol will know if a Detective needs help contacting an investigative lead, or locating a witness, and Detectives will know what suspicious activity Patrol is seeing in real time whether they are in the office or on the move.

Additionally, Operations Discussions build an investigative timeline of what is happening in terms of the investigation’s status. This goes a long way towards keeping things well organized and helps to eliminate any unnecessary redundancy and duplication of work. Overall, it fosters a culture capable of doing more of what needs to be done to solve crimes.

3. The Art of Deconfliction

The “art of deconfliction” also has an important role to play in Patrol and Investigation’s communications, but from a slightly different perspective. Deconfliction logs can and should include things like drug tips and other types of activity where both Patrol and Investigations need to know what the other is working on. For example, a Patrol Officer might receive a tip about a drug house in his or her assigned area. If that Officer posts the tip to the Drug Tip Deconfliction Log within SmartForce, the Narcotics Sergeant can let the Officer know if they are either already working that address; want to work it or would like the Officer to work it at the patrol level.

4. The Importance of Crime Bulletins

During a crime series all key stakeholders involved need to have updated information in an accessible way for both Patrol and Investigations to ingest. Crime Bulletins are an excellent way to communicate between stakeholders when they are current and updated with versioning. It goes without saying but linking to this information in shift briefings and operations discussions is of paramount importance to solve crimes quickly and efficiently.

5. Search, and Plenty of It

Finally, we arrive at the concept of search – something that makes sure that all this insight and expertise no longer remains in a silo, cut off from the people who need it the most. With search functionality, Patrol Officers and Detectives can quickly catch-up on current happenings after RDO’s, vacations and more – all with customized views. SmartForce is one example of a solution designed to improve communication in this way by unlocking native search functionality within the solution itself. If all areas are putting their activity in SmartForce, any searches run on people, places, vehicles and keywords will link these two critical areas together much faster than email or word of mouth could ever accomplish.

Good communication and collaboration are essential in solving crimes efficiently and quickly. SmartForce incorporates the Five Key Elements listed above to link key stakeholders within an agency giving them a one-stop-shop to get their jobs done using the best technology available today.