IACP2014: NowForce Aims to Enhance Law Enforcement Dispatch

Oct. 25, 2014
NowForce Law Enforcement uses a smartphone application to optimize communications.

A company focused on changing the way information is sent to dispatch centers is unveiling its latest offering at IACP 2014 in Orlando this week.

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NowForce Law Enforcement will utilize a cloud-based smartphone application to help optimize communications, share information and assign the closest available and relevant officers.

NowForce CEO Assaf Shafran spoke to Officer.com about how his company's product is already revolutionizing communications for other sectors of public safety and is now turning to police.

"We try to help public safety personnel save more peoples' lives using cloud computing and mobile devices and smartphones," he said. "We've created a solution that allows any type of agency of any size to use the existing technology that they already have and empower the personnel in the field to be better connected to the command centers -- the backbone of their infrastructure -- using what everyone has in their pockets."

Through the use of the smartphone application, officers will have the ability to capture what is happening as it occurs and have all of that information sent back to dispatch.

"You can think of our software for the officer as taking the data terminals from the police car and miniaturizing it into a smartphone application," Shafran said. "It can work with existing dispatch or you could use our entire system end-to-end and basically give you the computer-aided dispatch functionality without having to by a computer-aided dispatch system."

He added that the NowForce can be easily integrated into existing dispatch systems or used as a stand-alone system.

"Most of our customers already have some kind of computer-aided dispatch system. In that case, they can easily take our solution and integrate it with our APIs to their existing software," he said. "With that, they are now able to see a common picture of not just the vehicle, but also get a situational awareness from the individual level."

Shafran noted that in addition to the CAD in the cloud product, NowForce offers various components and modules that can be integrated into the system.

"It's modular," he said. "You can decide which component you need and which you don't."

One of the modules offered by NowForce is a 'reporter application' or 'SOS' application. Victims, VIPs, assets or the officers themselves can the 'See Something, Say Something' application to push information to dispatch.

"They can then report anything that they see that is of interest," he said. "Whether it is 'I need help,' with a one-push 'panic' application or that there is a suspicious person or active shooter or any other information they see."

Users can send pictures, fill out different forms and then send that information to a case that is automatically created with the location and other properties of the user.

Shafran said that while the system is similar way to Text-to-911 or NextGen911, it allows small-scale agencies that may not have access to those components to enjoy the same functionality along with enhancements. Not only can images be sent through the system, NowForce will soon include a video streaming module as well.

The video component will "open up a whole new set of functionality," he said. "We're very excited about this feature. It turns every smartphone into a sort of CCTV, but in addition to doing just that, our SOS application also will begin broadcasting video when the user is in distress.

"This is definitely valuable information that someone can later access from the secure cloud for playback."

Other features of NowForce Law Enforcement include access to a geographical action map that has tips and information feeding into it in real-time, blue-force tracking via officers’ smartphones or GPS trackers, auto-dispatching, status updates and the ability for agencies to reach off-duty officers during a crisis without compromising their privacy.

While Shafran admits that the system is not a replacement for radios, he stressed that it does offer benefits that can help improve on traditional dispatch.

"If you look at what's on the air today, a lot of the communication could be minimized if you know what's going on, see the pictures, have the location and navigate to the scene all through the push of a button," he said. "We've built all of these benefits into a very easy-to-use 10-minute training mobile application."

The full dispatch training for command staff can be done in about a day, and the cost of NowForce stats at a few dollars per user per month.

"At the equivalent it would be to buy a multi-million dollar product -- we bring it to the table with a subscription fee that allows the customers to save tons of money not needing to invest anything on hardware or infrastructure and not having to commit to buying the system," he said.

"Depending on which functionality you need, we have different plans that will tailor the specific package of features and functionality that your agency needs and you only pay for what you need, when you need it and you can pay as you grow."

NowForce will be in attendace at IACP 2014 at Booth 2667 from Oct. 26-28.

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