Building a Sustainable Technology Budget in Law Enforcement
Technology, networks, systems, big data, cybersecurity, and more are commonplace in police agencies and now take a large portion of each department’s annual budget. Each technology piece used to manage the data has a yearly maintenance cost. Network equipment has annual service contracts to ensure the agency stays online and connected to the various systems and programs. Software, applications, and program upgrades must be included with annual maintenance or budgeted separately. Hardware and equipment will need repair or replacement, which must be considered in the budget.
Tracking the annual costs of each piece of technology and their increases must be part of technology planning and purchasing. Each new program or resource that may save staff time may be beneficial initially, but what about the long-term costs? Can the agency’s budget absorb the annual maintenance, upgrade, and service fees after the initial deployment? Is there a trade-off cost that must be made, and if so, is the trade worthwhile to the community and the agency?
Reallocating resources
Some departments are working with staffing numbers far below the total number of authorized staff for that agency. Some of the push to take funding from police agencies has lessened, yet agencies like Cleveland Police are seeing city leaders ask for fewer officers as officer positions remain unfilled. Even with the decreased number of officers in Cleveland’s proposed budget, the overall budget for the police department is higher based on staff raises and increased starting officer pay. The Cleveland mayor’s proposed budget includes sustaining efforts using a “data-driven approach to solving crime,” including the previous year’s budgeted civilian crime analyst positions to manage the data.
This asks the question, should policing focus be placed on technology? Traditionally, police department budgets have a more significant part of their budget for salaries. As agencies reduce officer numbers based on unfilled positions and lean more heavily on technology, how does the overall agency change? And is that change a welcome one in the community?
Technology should be a tool to assist in lowering response time and meeting other agency mandates and goals. Technology can be leveraged to save staff time, help keep officers and the community safe, improve response times and investigation success rates, and so much more. However, reallocating resources to technology from units with excess budget due to open staff positions should not be done lightly. Moving budgetary resources away from staff should include a workload analysis to determine if lowering the staff levels will negatively impact the short-term and long-term goals of the agency, like response times or proactive policing.
Effective planning
Planning for technology upgrades, equipment replacement, and purchasing new programs or applications is not a one-and-done endeavor. The one-time cost may include first-year or even second-year maintenance fees, but knowing what is included and when the ancillary contract costs are due is critical to effective planning and budgeting. Those added maintenance and upkeep annual fees increase as technology stacks up. This hit to the budget can be quite a shock. Technology purchased through grants has to be included as well. Even without the initial budget ‘hit’ for implementation and deployment, the recurring fees, upgrades, and replacements for technology purchased through grants eventually must be absorbed into the budget.
Agencies often focus on using technology to improve officer safety and better use of patrol time by removing tedious tasks like data entry. In a workforce assessment, these technology-based improvements might show a slight need for decreased staffing. Conversely, the workforce assessment may also show additional staffing needed to manage the network, programs, and equipment. Justification for new technology should always consider the long-term impact on staffing, systems and equipment, internal processes, and, most importantly, annual maintenance and upkeep fees.
Technology plan
A technology plan may be part of an agency’s capital improvement or 10-year department plan. If not, each agency should have a goal of at least five years, including technology, anticipated budget, staff, and service levels. The long-range plan needs to be reviewed frequently, including the current technology, the planned technology, and the agency’s future wish list. All known and anticipated budget numbers need to be included in this long-range planning. Including current budgeting maintenance numbers may require decisions on future technology implementation based on future economies and budgets.
Technology planning must consider the current situation and how everything associated with the latest program, application, or equipment fits in the long term. Technology changes rapidly, making updates, upgrades, and new equipment needed regularly. The agency must continually look at its technology plan and associated budgeting needs. The known and anticipated technology, physical footprint, staff needs, costs, and recurring fees must be included in the budget, building and space, staffing, capital, and partnership plans.
Toni Rogers
Toni Rogers is a freelance writer and former manager of police support services, including communications, records, property and evidence, database and systems management, and building technology. She has a master’s degree in Criminal Justice with certification in Law Enforcement Administration and a master's degree in Digital Audience Strategies.
During her 18-year tenure in law enforcement, Toni was a certified Emergency Number Professional (ENP), earned a Law Enforcement Inspections and Auditing Certification, was certified as a Spillman Application Administrator (database and systems management for computer-aided dispatch and records management), and a certified communications training officer.
Toni now provides content marketing and writing through her company, Eclectic Pearls, LLC.
