Category: Agency Management System

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.

Mariano Delle Donne
CEO

As a community and its police department grow, having a police intelligence unit may be beneficial or even necessary. The purpose of a police intel unit is to provide strategic, tactical, operational and administrative intelligence analysis of crime data to a law enforcement agency in a timely manner. If you are considering adding an intel unit to your agency, there are five concepts you should keep in mind for its success: focus, structure, technology, stats/tracking, and potential pitfalls.

1. Focus

Focus comes down to three basic issues: jurisdiction, scope of information gathered and scope of services provided. Understanding which areas your police intelligence unit is going to focus on is key to building the unit correctly from the ground up.

– Jurisdiction: If you’re creating an intel unit for a city police department, the jurisdiction is the city. But what if it’s a unit that is shared among several departments? It could end up serving several cities, or different parts thereof.

– Scope of information: The most successful intelligence units have a wide variety of sources from which to obtain case facts and crime related information. In addition to having direct communication with criminal investigators and surveillance teams, additional sources include:
– accurate local crime statistics and police records;
– local, state and federal crime databases;
– social media sources;
– business and commercial open source data; and
– government records.

– Scope of services: Services provided might include the creation of crime bulletins, tracking of patterns and prolific offenders, radio monitoring, support in operations, warrant workups, data analysis, and other services to assist the department.

2. Structure

The structure of an intelligence unit depends on the size of the agency or agencies that it serves. A typical model might include a manager or supervisor, three to 12 sworn intelligence officers and three to 12 analysts, who could be sworn or not sworn. Smaller agencies may have one or two sworn officers doing double duty as intelligence officers and analysts. Many agencies require that recruits for officers and analysts have college degrees, and it’s important for anyone in this unit to be able to work independently, be persistent, communicate well and, of course, have a complete knowledge of general police practices. In addition to this, analysts may be required to have post-graduate degrees and should have excellent skills in writing, research, critical thinking and computers. The challenge for anyone beginning such a unit is finding these qualified officers and analysts or allotting enough time and budget to train them.

3. Technology

The scope of operations affects the technology required. A surveillance-heavy intelligence unit may require cameras, microphones and other types of high tech surveillance gear. A unit geared more toward data collection may invest in data mining software and very powerful computers. In just about all cases, the unit will need standard police gear, especially radios, tablets and cell phones to stay in communication with other law enforcement partners at all times.

4. Stats/Tracking

When forming a police intel unit, you need to have a way to quantify your progress against your stated goals and focuses. It would be accurate to say that the goal of any intel unit is to solve crimes, so the increase in solved cases is the best measure, but this isn’t always the whole picture. Intel units also help to bring cases to trial and keep them from being thrown out on technicalities, so perhaps prosecutions are a more meaningful metric to use.

5. Potential Pitfalls

As with creating any new department or unit, there are challenges, and those challenges start with money. Hiring staff, training them and buying equipment and software all cost money. Another pitfall is that the need for rapid information sharing will require a platform, so one must be found or created. If roles are not clearly defined and communicated to stakeholders, that can be another challenge that affects the development and success of a police intelligence unit. Also, unfamiliarity or even distrust could cause officers outside the unit, other departments and other potential customers of the intel unit to be hesitant to ask for help or share information. This will require a good deal of trust building through demonstrated successes and positive results.

Source
https://www.ialeia.org/docs/Intelligence_Led_Policing-Getting_Started.pdf

Brian Mc Grew
VP of Education

Your agency may be focused on 1 or more Proactive policing strategies.  Learn more about the 4 types and tips through this white paper on PoliceOne.com from Drs. Rachel and Roberto Santos from the Criminal Justice Department of Radford University.

Brian Mc Grew
VP of Education

Hot Spot Policing is a proven, highly effective technique for agencies focused on a Place-based crime reduction strategy. The research from Dr. Chris Koper shows Hot Spots policing can positively deter and therefore reduce crime (if executed correctly) as well as enhance community trust and legitimacy.

The Police Foundation encourages police leaders to consider using the “Koper Curve” research and results to maximize their agency’s hot-spot policing strategy.  Click here to see the 5 Things You Need to Know About Hot Spots Policing & The “Koper Curve” Theory.

However, to execute correctly and make the most out of Hot Spot policing, I’d like to expand on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th things you need to know about the “Koper Curve” Theory.  Officers must document their activity and crime analysts and supervisors must analyze what’s been documented.

This kind of accountability provides data that ensures the proper number of minutes of patrol (10-16) are executed randomly instead of at the same times.  It also shows whether officers are “running the right play” or conducting the right activities in the Hot Spot based on the type of crime they are hoping to deter.  And finally, this kind of accountability provides analysts and supervisors the ability to report on the effectiveness of these patrol ops and decide on whether resources are still needed in this area or should be moved to another Hot Spot.

But many agencies fall short on documenting, organizing, and reporting on their Hot Spots because they do not use an agency management system designed specifically for pro-active policing.  Instead, they rely on email or other less effective methods and fall short on their potential for preventing and reducing crime.

The Hot Spot Solution

Enter SmartForce™, the first and most widely used software solution designed specifically for Hot Spot Policing and all other proactive policing strategies.  SmartForce™ provides a mobile and officer-friendly interface for patrol to document their Hot Spot activity and for crime analysts, detectives, and supervisors to receive real-time updates and reports in one singular environment.

Agencies who have converted to SmartForce™ have seen dramatic improvements in the execution of their Hot Spot and other crime reduction strategies as well as increased job satisfaction from catching more criminals and clearing cases faster.

The Grand Junction Police Department in Colorado is one such agency.  GJPD officers, detectives, crime analysts, and supervisors have worked collaboratively on Hot Spots in their jurisdiction using SmartForce™.  On one such Hot Spot Op, self-initiated officer activity increased by a massive 75% and calls for service in this over-indexed area plummeted.  To see and read more about their success, click here.

Leading your agency to reach its crime reduction potential through Hot Spot policing is more possible today than ever with the advent of proven cost-effective tools like SmartForce™.  Best wishes adding accountability and real-time communication to the “Koper Curve” theory and watch your Hot Spot policing efforts deter and reduce more crime this year!

Brian Mc Grew
VP of Education

If you’re like most agencies, breaking through to a new level of success with your crime reduction strategies can be challenging.  Read this case study at PoliceOne.com to see if you are facing similar challenges that this Fusion Center overcame.