How Using Technology Can Help Officers Better Serve Their Communities

Information in law enforcement helps keep officers as safe as possible and enables them to work with intelligence. While law enforcement can use multiple sources of information and technology, how can they choose which ones are the most valuable and reliable? One method is to have a customized suite of technology that will reduce risks and make an officer’s job more efficient. FivePoint Solutions has some of the answers for success through intelligence-led policing.

Technology In Policing

Techonolgy has been used in policing for many years and, sometimes, law enforcement has been at the forefront of advancements. For example, New Jersey Police introduced the first two-way radio in 1933. Another technological integration is cloud computing, which enables multiple sources of information to be available to an officer at the touch of a button. Drones, GPS, and speed detectors are also commonly used in policing.

There are immense opportunities for using technology to provide easy and secure solutions to keep people safe. While the days of filing cabinets are gone, the new world of technology opens up opportunities to work more efficiently and safely.

Why Technology and Intelligence are Necessary for Officer Safety

Information is vital to solving crimes and embedding transparency/trust in policing. Without a complete view of a situation, law enforcement officers are vulnerable to making misguided judgments that can compromise their safety. There is also the added risk of making the incorrect assumption about a crime or scenario. In addition, agencies sometimes use incomplete information, which influences officer safety and decision-making negatively. It also affects efficiency on the job, making tasks that should take minutes  instead tie up law enforcement teams for hours. As technology advances with new ways of utilizing information to assist in situations, law enforcement agencies need access to the best solutions to keep themselves and the community safe.

Why Accurate Data Matters

Policing uses a lot of data, so making sure it is relevant and accurate is vital to success in the field. The currentness of information is one of the most important aspects of accurate data because conditions can change rapidly in situations involving law enforcement. While some databases receive annual updates, systems using real-time data have information often updated daily or immediately. Those working within law enforcement need technology that uses real-time data so they can have the best intelligence on-hand and can work in as safe of an environment as possible. Platforms such as FivePoint’s Officer Safety Platform use real-time data from multiple agencies to support law enforcement officers. By using real-time data, officers are more likely to make better-informed decisions, leading to more accurate policing and a safer community.

Data Security is Vital

Data is used for a variety of reasons in intelligence-led policing, such as when officers identify trends in a gang violence or uncover information about a suspect. Along with officer safety, community safety is also equally as important, since significant amounts of data used in policing have personally identifiable information about the public. This means that for many systems used by law enforcement, particularly those where data is retrieved from multiple sources, the information must be secure. If this confidential data were to become lost, misused, or fall into criminal hands, it could bring about a risk to both public and officer safety, potentially compromising confidence in law enforcement along the way.

Integrating Training Solutions

Technology is continually changing, requiring those who use it to update their skills constantly. A robust training schedule must be in place alongside new technology so each law enforcement team member knows how to operate it well during investigations. Training ensures safety and consistency within policing while contributing to teams working more efficiency because of a more in-depth knowledge of the technology they are using. Giving officers the confidence to work with technological solutions and platforms by using a training support package also helps them work effectively. It’s clear that as criminals move to use technology in their methods, policing must be two steps ahead of the game.

Preparing for the Future

Data and technology are here to stay in policing. Analytics and intelligence from existing sources represent a powerful way of using data to suggest where crimes are likely to occur. By highlighting issues such as places where gun crime is more likely, technology can help prevent an incident and keep law enforcement teams safe. Biometrics is another technology designed to support intelligence-led policing. In addition to facial recognition and fingerprinting, the FBI has also developed the Next Generation Identification System (NGI) that gives law enforcement a wealth of intelligence to find criminals. Enhanced body-worn cameras are another technological innovation available to the police, and they can use a range of data to integrate information from crime scenes.

Systems such as the FivePoint Officer Safety Platform gives officer the ability to pull in real-time information into a dashboard from numerous data sources so an officer has everything necessary. This is not only safer for the law enforcement teams but saves time and increases productivity. It also helps keep the community safe by stopping crime in its tracks.

If you are looking for a technology solution for your law enforcement agency, reach out to FivePoint Solutions today to see what they can offer your department. Contact Us | FivePoint Solutions (myfivepoint.com)

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