Leadership View: Why is Technology Becoming Crucial in Law Enforcement?
Authored by Head of Product, Tanisha Adams
We live in a world where technology provides advantages we didn’t have in years past. It’s efficient, easily shared, and stored more effectively. Law Enforcement is embracing the benefits of different technologies to solve crimes. Some trending new technologies are:
Training Simulators
As more and more public safety departments add simulators to their training, they will become more equipped to serve all people within the communities they serve. These simulators allow law enforcement to create real-life environments they may face in the field. This is something they can’t accurately recreate in a training room. The benefits of technology such as this will allow officers, sheriffs, and other law enforcement personnel to learn new methods to address, tackle, and even de-escalate in different scenarios. Arkansas Sheriff’s office uses VR for Training, as noted here.
As law enforcement training continues to be a key topic of conversation across the Nation, harnessing technology to track and submit hours should be at the forefront of agencies’ minds. Building digital infrastructure within agencies creates a robust repository of crucial data such as training and evidence management.
Drones
Police drones are already used in police departments, and sheriff’s offices, and this usage is growing. Taking photos of a crime scene from an aerial perspective helps them solve crimes and perform search and rescue and crash scene documentation in a way they couldn’t do before this technology. It provides clear pictures and a more extensive search area faster, providing details more quickly than the typical “boots on the ground” approach. North Carolina police launched a drone program in 2021, as noted by Government Technology, and this type of technology use will only grow as the benefits become more well-known.
Biometrics:
Biometrics are used at all levels to prevent and solve crimes by quickly identifying culprits. Today’s technology surpasses initial biometric capabilities used in the early 1900s by law enforcement. Fingerprinting tools are the most used biometrics, but as technology advances in this area, the usage of more tools will become more popular. Handheld scanners and facial recognition tools are also on the rise to accurately identify potential suspects and persons of interest.
The more accessible these types of technology become, the more effective law enforcement will become at quickly solving crimes, providing more data related to crash scenes, and being more successful during search and rescue missions. The greatest challenge to law enforcement embracing more technology is currently cost. Many police agencies, sheriff’s departments, and law enforcement don’t have the budget to pay for all this new technology. There are grants available for technology and other funding that will benefit law enforcement; some are listed below.
As Head of Product at CivicEye, I am encouraged by our team’s desire to consistently look for new opportunities to enable technology for our customers. Partnering with cutting edge technology companies, like ours, to move agencies into the 21st century is important. This will allow agencies of all sizes the ability to take advantage of technology that makes their jobs easier and more efficient.
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