Oracle is on a mission, through technology, to make work life simpler, safer, and more productive for our policing and law enforcement first responders. We are developing technologies to make this possible, building trust between first responders and the communities they serve—with the ultimate goal of saving lives. Focus on five things and find the right partner to help your agency.
Police departments and law enforcement agencies today must serve their communities in two overlapping worlds: the physical and the digital. As challenges evolve for police and law enforcement, new public safety technology solutions are helping those professionals serve, protect, and engage communities.
Technology plays dual roles in the changing worlds of policing and crime. Financial fraud, hate speech, and radicalization are increasing in the digital realm, with social media used to plan and discuss crimes, and even to boast about criminal activity. But technology is also a tool for law enforcement, providing police with new insights, techniques, and evidence to better engage, and ultimately protect, the public. Newer technologies—such as increasingly sophisticated body cams and other data-capture devices, the Internet of Things (IoT), and deeper analytics—help ensure both officer and public safety and enable law enforcement to serve communities more effectively and empathetically.
Police need to adopt a preventative approach over a reactive one to keep the public safe. As crime proliferates, new threats emerge every year. To stay ahead of crime trends, public safety agencies must anticipate and respond to such threats.
Police and law enforcement agencies historically responded to crimes that have already been committed or have increased the number of officers assigned in an attempt to deter criminal activity.
Today, digital technologies allow policing to become both proactive and preventative, with a wealth of data available to help predict if, where, when, and how crimes take place. These new tools and techniques must be adopted where possible so crime can be anticipated and prevented.
Across the public safety landscape, reform movements and perceived and real policing dangers have affected recruitment. As the nature of crime and policing rapidly changes, tech-savvy talent is needed. Police agencies struggle to attract these digital native workers. Failure to connect with them can deprive agencies of talent able to use disruptive new technologies. Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems provide seamless experiences from incident call to resolution, while also equipping responders with vital, real-time information in the field. CAD systems also can integrate with new records management systems (RMS), using information from other department technologies and data sources to automate records creation and management.
It’s more important than ever for governments to use a new approach to develop, engage, and deliver positive, community-empowered public safety experiences. This will mean a shift from the current single-sentinel approach to a collaborative one, relying on public engagement, discussion, and participation.
Today’s public safety ecosystem must encompass more than a “blue wall”. It should move beyond detached policing and law enforcement entities to include community outreach, communication, and engagement.
