Guardian Alliance Technologies: Bringing Innovation to Law Enforcement

When it comes to hiring personnel for a law enforcement agency, it is imperative to know exactly who the candidate is, simply because of the power bestowed upon the individual. This is a task that requires utmost scrutiny. Unfortunately, many departments still employ outdated methods, such as snail-mail and paper trails to gather the data needed to compile background information on potential candidates. The entire process is lengthy, cumbersome, and extremely inefficient—this is where Guardian Alliance Technologies steps in.

After ten years of serving as a patrol officer for the Stockton Police Department, Officer Justin Biedinger took a position as a background investigator due to early medical retirement. After 3 years of background investigations, Justin observed several inefficiencies in the traditional hiring methods. The lack of organization and standardized processes had created gaps in communication. Biedinger wasn’t alone in his observation, which led him to the realization for the need of a software solution that was, “Built by background investigators for background investigators.” Subsequently, Guardian Alliance Technologies Background Investigation Management Software was created, which drastically reduces the turnaround time in law enforcement background checks while ensuring the best people are chosen for the job.

The software works on three ends: for the unit supervisor, it provides a more efficient method of managing investigators, easily assigning applicants to investigators, and accessing reporting data from anywhere. The software also helps supervisors manage all department forms, monitor the investigations in progress, and discover bottlenecks within their department.

At the investigator side, it provides a modern intuitive interface packed full of time-saving features specifically designed to organize and simplify the workflow.

Built by background investigators for background investigators

The entire investigation is broken down into individual modules which each require completion and will notify the investigator in case of any disparity, thus providing checks and balances against the required data collection. One of the many popular features is the “Relatives and References” module. In many instances across the country, the current process is to physically mail a reference form, something that agencies complain “takes too much time.” Guardian’s software pulls those references from the very long and comprehensive personal history statement (PHS) filled out by the applicant and provides the investigator with a single-click solution which emails all references the appropriate questionnaires needed. Even better, the reference receiving the online questionnaire can click on a secure link which takes them to an online form they can quickly fill out and immediately upload their responses in “Relatives and References” module. This one feature alone can save over a week or more in the investigation by eliminating snail-mail and making the task much easier and more convenient for the reference to complete. This digital workflow makes the system significantly more efficient and gives officers the time to focus on the background check rather than wasting time on tedious tasks.

Finally, Guardian’s self-managed online applicant portal makes the process much simpler and less time consuming for the applicant. All forms required are at the applicant’s fingertips, along with personalized department messages, checklists, and reminders. The online PHS is digitized and reduces the time required through the auto-population of other forms.

Guardian employs their own in-house software development team to ensure their clients get the best of both worlds when it comes to their sheer expertise in technology and experience in law enforcement, which translates into a timely solution for law enforcement agencies, thus bringing innovation to the law enforcement profession.

Guardian plans to expand the software to encompass more features that will assist in automating or eliminating the inefficient and outdated workflows currently still in use by most law enforcement agencies around the country.