Two Colorado Agencies Use Tech to Increase Efficiencies

Law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. vary in their technology integrations, but two particular police departments in Colorado both researched and implemented cutting-edge technology to create efficiencies and do their jobs even better.

In Boulder, Colo., Clay Leak, patrol sergeant at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, noticed a lot of inefficiencies in the way his agency was purchasing and using technology. Different units within the department were doing their own technology research and making purchases without other personnel being involved or giving input. “I…became frustrated with reinventing the wheel and/or hearing that one section/unit was researching a piece of tech that another unit had already evaluated and dismissed, or blindly making an impulse purchase without considering the impacts, usability for other units, interoperability,” says Leak.

So in 2013 Leak decided to do something about the problem and created the “Technology Exploration Committee” (TEC) for the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office, including representation from IT, patrol, detectives and command staff. Over the last four years the TEC has improved technology integration leaps and bounds for the agency. Here are just a few things the committee has been able to accomplish:

• It has added a 360-degree camera for crime scene photography as a proof of concept, and detective supervisors are now interested in purchasing more (a detective and member of TEC purchased the current 360-degree camera using his own money, something those with a passion often do);
• It established a subcommittee of TEC to pave the way for a future body worn camera (BWC) program and conduct extensive research into cameras, policies, and best practices. This grew into a much larger committee and led to an RFP process to identify body worn camera (BWC) manufacturers, narrowed the response list of 8 vendors down to 3 who met the basic requirements, then conducted extensive T&E of those units to select the best unit;
• It deployed department-wide issued iPhones coupled with mobile device management, to streamline technology by eliminating digital point & shoot cameras and expensive digital recorders;
• It made effective use of game cameras and pole/IP cameras at area trailheads to more effectively and efficiently combat vehicle break-ins;
• It has promoted continued use of an automated license plate recognition (ALPR) system, which they are considering expanding from one vehicle installation to two vehicles and a network of fixed ALPR cameras along key vehicle routes;
• It is collaborating with County IT to develop patrol scheduling software in-house that fits all its needs.

“Through TEC we’re also now getting ready to deploy a handful of portable (handheld) fingerprint scanners that we were able to get donated to us through our networking connection with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI),” says Leak. “These scanners tie into CCIC/NCIC and FBI fingerprint databases to help identify unknown individuals.” 

Leak is excited for the future of law enforcement technology and doesn’t see it slowing down anytime soon. “We’ve come a very long way from 16-channel radios and no computers in the cars, but still have a long way to go. As you know, it is an exponentially growing field and I’m always excited to see what’s on the horizon!” 

But the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office isn’t the only agency focusing on implementing future-forward tech. Just down the road at the Westminster Police Department, Karin Marquez has championed new technology in the Police Department Communications Center from day one. Marquez began her career in public safety at the age of 18 and after progressing through various roles, was promoted to the position of Communications Supervisor for the Westminster PD. 

Things have changed dramatically in dispatch recording technology throughout the years, says Marquez, recalling how eighteen years ago they’d have to change reel-to-reel tapes every night, at midnight. Over the years, however, new technology has made the work of recording and reproducing communications much more efficient. Most recently, the PD deployed a new solution that has enabled them to greatly improve their productivity in handling audio reproduction requests, a critical function for 911 centers. These requests come from in-house investigators, DAs, public defenders, private attorneys, the media, even private citizens.

“The NICE Inform technology allows us to reproduce incidents faster and lets us turn around reproduction requests in hours rather than business days,” says Marquez. NICE Inform is powered by CAD Incident Analytics which lets Marquez and her team instantly find all 911 and radio calls associated with incidents.

Marquez says that as a supervisor, she’s accustomed to having to work in multiple systems to do her job. Prior to deploying the newest release of NICE Inform (which integrates with the Department’s Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system) she had to navigate the two separate systems to process reproduction requests.

“We’d get a request from a detective or the DA’s office for all the 911 calls associated with a case, and we’d first have to go into CAD and read through the chronology to verify when the call came in, what position it came in on, as well as looking for any subsequent calls that may have come in on other positions,” she said. “Then we’d have to log on to the recording system separately, and search for each and every call by time, date and position, and listen to them. It was a highly manual process, and prone to error.”

Now, when Marquez receives requests, she simply logs on to NICE Inform, types in a case number and the system instantly retrieves all of the related audio recordings. The recordings are merged onto a timeline, along with CAD event data showing when the calls came in, and when units were dispatched and arrived on scene.

“It takes the guesswork out of trying to match CAD records to audio recordings – it does it for me automatically,” she said. “For our department, it was an immediate 50 percent improvement in efficiency and time savings.”

“It gives me time back, and allows me to reproduce incidents a lot faster so requesters don’t have to wait five, six or seven days. Oftentimes, I can provide audio reproductions the same day, even within five minutes if there’s a rush.”

So what does Marquez do with all that extra time?

Every center across the country every center is short staffed, she explains. “As supervisors, we juggle many responsibilities outside of the floor and operations. Now I can manage the floor better, I can meet my other deadlines, I can cover the radio, and maybe even go home on time. The time you get back can always be used for something better.”