Look Towards Innovation in 2018

As I traveled from one police department to the next last year, I noticed vast differences in the use of technology. For example, one agency just began writing policy for body camera usage and started sending out RFPs while another agency 20 miles away was going on its sixth year utilizing the technology. This is just one example of many. Does this sound familiar?

There’s no doubt that budget plays a large role in technology purchases. In a survey done by Officer.com in 2017, we asked respondents to tell us about their 2018 budget projections. More than 50 percent of the respondents said they expect a growth in their 2018 budget year while only 12 percent expect any reduction. Manpower growth is expected to average 12 percent for those agencies adding staff. The primary targets for expenditure of budget increases are vehicles/fleet, uniforms, weapons and then training. Beyond budget, lack of knowledge may be another reason agencies fail to invest in products.

If your agency is one that struggles to implement technology, I recommend creating a technology committee in 2018. Appoint a leader of the committee and begin recruiting LEOs—and perhaps some civilian positions—to be involved. This committee, no matter the size of your agency, would seek out products, research, test and make recommendations. It would act as a centralized group for new product purchases and ensure that the agency stays up-to-date on improving technologies in our industry.

Beyond a technology committee, be sure to stay up-to-date by reading trade magazines, such as this one, and our sister publication, Law Enforcement Product News, as well as Officer.com. As always, look to other agencies who are thinking outside of the box, too. I recently read a fascinating article about the Benton County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas that launched an initiative involving the mining of Bitcoin—a form of digital currency—to monitor the activities of criminals online. With ever-changing technology comes changing crimes, and these LEOs are doing what it takes to keep up.

There are also the LEOs who find solutions to their challenges by creating their own technology and products. In this issue I am excited to bring you our third edition of Created by Cops, an article where we introduce readers to products that were designed by others in law enforcement. Check it out on page 12.

Innovation is everywhere in our industry—don’t fall behind.

Stay safe,

Adrienne