Future of Law Enforcement: The Top Technologies

Police and law implementing agencies can be better placed to solve public safety problems with the right technology and input from community members and stakeholders.

FREMONT, CA: New technologies, methods, and ideas have brought considerable positive change to law enforcement for the sole purpose of reverting to its core: community engagement and public safety.

3 Broadly Adopted Law Enforcement Technologies:

Connected Devices & Police Body Cameras

Connected devices (IoT solutions) have a great capacity to improve law enforcement and public safety with their ability to give invaluable proof of evidence and detect crime-related activity in real-time.

Even though the first reported utilization of body cams was around 2005, it wasn’t until roughly a decade later that they were widely executed across the US, mainly to increase transparency and police accountability. This comprehensive scale implementation enables officers to record factual and matter-of-fact information about any incident to support future actions and to help build public confidence as they’ve been shown to improve officer behavior.

Mobile Applications

Today there’s an app for everything, comprising law enforcement and policing. These mobile apps have multiple purposes, including helping keep officers more circumstantially aware and enhancing task creation, reporting and proof collection accuracy and comfort.

Some apps were created with the straight intent of easing public concern. For instance, Riverside PD launched its free app for community members to access the latest news, photos, videos, events, alerts, and crime information. It also has two-way communication capabilities and forms for residents to submit anonymous tips to the department and file police reports.

Mobile applications extend the limitations previously facing law enforcement leaders in the field. Numerous apps, like New World ShieldForce and Samsung DeX, expand computer-aided transmit functionality onto a smartphone.

A dispatcher can trail an officer no matter where they are and send alternate if necessary. These abilities also keep officers more circumstantially aware by providing critical information in real-time. Additionally, opening up the lines of communication between PD, their community members, and dispatchers can better ensure safety for everyone.

Data Analytics for Law Enforcement

Data is everywhere, and now with law implementation departments deploying various technology solutions, including those mentioned above, more information is being generated. Technology is undoubtedly the best method to quickly and efficiently aggregate. It analyzes immense volumes of data to assist investigations and enforcement actions and help agencies comprehend resident feedback and public sentiment regarding law enforcement.

Community insights and analytics platforms use technology to spontaneously analyze millions of public resident-generated data points from many external and internal sources. Then provides actionable insights and customized reports so local leaders can easily measure and improve public opinion and determine what matters most to the people they serve. In addition, its data-driven capabilities give police chiefs and law enforcement leaders the capacity to hear from all of their inhabitants and can help support community-oriented policing.

Community Policing and Technological Innovations

Law enforcement agencies have adopted community policing practices since the 1970s to help innovate policing, improve community relations, and improve service. Community policing – at its center – is about problem-solving over the community, not only for the community.

The combination of technological innovation and influential community policing practices can be potent. Police and law implementing agencies can be better placed to solve public safety problems with the right technology and input from community members and stakeholders.

Data analytics that helps departments understand public opinion, like those discussed above, can transform qualitative data – like emotions of trust and perceptions of safety – into qualitative metrics. Just as law execution agencies have been tracking and mapping crime statistics constantly since the 1930s, analytics technology can help community policing by assisting map and measuring trust. Doing this can support departments in measuring the effectiveness of community policing initiatives, answering resident priorities, and tailoring solutions to specific communities and community concerns. The Redondo Beach Police Department is an excellent example of an agency using these analytics to support community policing efforts and increase resident trust.

Another law enforcement technology trend that can back community policing efforts is actually in the realm of social media. Over the past year, police departments have been effectively leveraging social media to engage more with community members – meeting residents where they’re at, engaging more informally, and more than anything – communicating – a fundamental tenet of community policing. However, regardless of whether or not police departments engage on social media, we know residents will be online debating their local officers, events, and police reform.

Technological solutions can aid community unity by promoting proactive efforts to keep residents safe and open in communication and dialogue. The technologies listed above are a significant step in the right direction to help bridge the trust gap between law enforcement and communities.