What Happened?
New research reveals many municipal police departments are still lagging behind in implementing the latest technologies to support more efficient operations. New grant funding opportunities are helping these police departments leverage digital tools to fight crime more effectively.
The Need
A recent study from the RAND Corporation outlines the technological tools available to law enforcement agencies, as well as untapped resources that could help department meet goals faster and more efficiently. The research argues smarter investment in key technologies can help police departments stretch tight budgets farther and make better use of all resources including technology and manpower.
The researchers identified 11 themes for police technology demands grouped into three main categories:
- Law Enforcement’s Knowledge of IT and Its Dissemination Can Be Improved
- Efforts have been taken to disseminate technology information to law enforcement agencies
- There remains a strong desire for help in technology use and management in law enforcement
- Sharing, Displaying and Using Information Effectively is a Major Challenge
- Information sharing across law enforcement systems is a challenge
- Currently, information sharing efforts are limited and inconsistent
- There is a disparity in tools that display situational awareness information to law enforcement users
- There is a need to improve mechanisms for communicating with the public
- Additional Areas Need Research and Development
- Law enforcement needs to improve monitoring and protecting officer mental and physical health
- Security, privacy and civil rights policies for using IT must be improved
- Affordability of law enforcement IT systems across their entire life cycle must be supported
- There is a need to identify promising practices that leverage IT to reduce crime – training and policies
- There is a demand for wider use of deployable sensors – body cameras, field biometrics, video surveillance systems
Moving forward, the research recommends increasing outreach programs at the federal level to ensure local law enforcement are aware of available technologies and have the proper training to fully optimize the solutions. Furthermore, a federal entity should be collecting data on information sharing efforts nationwide to determine best practices that can be shared with other municipalities. The public and law enforcement should be in constant communication of the latest IT investments, and a stronger focus should be placed on officer health and wellness. To achieve these goals, many local police departments will need state and federal aid to support new programs and purchases.
San Jose
In San Jose, California, a $1.6 million state grant will be used to help the local police department purchase new computers, servers and mobile data computers for police cars. The department is looking to replace its 11-year-old mobile data computers with faster 4G LTE versions that will aid in:
- Mapping locations
- Searching records
- Communicating with other patrols
In addition, the police department plans to set aside $50,000 of the grant funding toward investigative and leadership training for officers, $50,000 for crime prevention education and outreach, and $172,000 for new safety equipment, San Jose Inside reported.
Saginaw
In Saginaw, Michigan, the city council approved several grants and donations to the local police and fire departments to upgrade communication and emergency equipment. Police officers will receive communication earpieces to improve collaboration in the field, and the fire department will acquire a new boat for water rescue and recovery operations. Both departments will spend $1,667 total on emergency tourniquets to on-site emergencies, MLive reported.
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