This transaction represents the next step in DSG’s strategy to focus their resources on its rapidly growing Law Enforcement business.   According to DSG’s CEO Noel Bambrough, “For more than ten years we’ve been a recognized leader and innovator in the health care market, utilizing our technology and expertise to optimize workflow. This rich history of hard work and technology will now benefit the law enforcement sector as we focus all our resources on it.”

“DSG is uniquely positioned to help law enforcement agencies overcome the economic and operational challenges that are currently crippling their ability to serve citizens while budgets are being slashed.  We are applying our technology and workflow expertise directly to this industry to literally help agencies keep officers on the street, to be a force-multiplier,” Bambrough added.

Documentation is the most time-consuming element of a law enforcement professional’s job.  According to some studies, more than 40% of a police officer’s time is spent writing, documenting, and/or transcribing reports. DSG’s technology allows the officer to “speak” his or her report instead of typing.  Through the use of technology and documentation experts, the dictated report is then quickly converted into a secure, written report, saving hours of time and lost productivity, allowing detectives to produce more leads and close more cases, instead of being bogged down by their enormous administrative burden.

Another innovation driving DSG’s growth in Law Enforcement is DSG’s patent-pending advanced search software known as RODI AVMS that allows the investigator to find critical information inside of audio or video files. This software makes it possible to find specific words spoken from a variety of evidentiary sources and can be applied across multiple disconnected systems and technologies.

About Documentation Services Group, Inc. (DSG)

For more than ten years, DSG has delivered the highest level of secure documentation solutions.  Leveraging innovative technology, combined with workflow experience and documentation expertise, DSG delivers on its promise to Law Enforcement agencies around the world to drive operational efficiencies and reduce costs.  Committed to tearing down technology silos, DSG’s solutions include Voice-Enabled Reporting, RODI Gateway, RODI AVMS, Secure Mobile Capture Solutions, Workflow Consulting, and Documentation Editing (utilizing US Knowledge workers).  For more information, please visit www.dsg-inc.net

For more information or to schedule an interview, please call David Woodrow at 770-883-0268, or email DSG at dwoodrow@dsg-inc.net

Contact:   David Woodrow

Vice President of Business Development

For Immediate Release

Telephone:            404-564-0122

Cell phone:            770-883-0268

Email:              dwoodrow@dsg-inc.net

For some agencies, these challenges are manageable.  For a growing majority – the challenges are daunting.  No more sacred cows or pet projects.  Everything needs to be re-evaluated – Everything.

A seemingly easy step taken by many departments is to reduce administrative staff.  You know – the “non-essential” folks in your office.  Now that many of you have taken that step, the term “non-essential” is taking on a new meaning.  Yes, you reduced headcount, but was it worth the cost?  The same report requirements are in place – but guess who is doing the typing/filing now?  Your most expensive and valuable resources – your officers and investigators.  Some of you have already crossed the ravine, and your officers are typing directly into the RMS from the laptop in the car.  Is that really any better?

I’ve met with many departments over the past few months.  I’ve heard detectives tell me they can no longer be proactive, and can rarely go out of the office.  They spend anywhere from 40 – 90% (yes, 90!) of their time typing reports/transcripts, making copies, uploading files…  Others tell me they are seeing a noticeable rise in Blue Flu as these public servants struggle to find the balance.  Is this how you want your personnel spending their time?  To Protect and Type!

If documentation is THE most time consuming activity in Law Enforcement – and it is – then it follows, that documentation is a great place to start looking for ways to improve.  Hire back the admins?  Good Luck.  Pray that crime goes down in proportion to the budget cut?  Sure.  How about a magic bullet – like Dragon, that I see on the commercials?  OK, right idea, but not exactly.  Your team needs more than just another disconnected technology.  You need to understand how to leverage technology and workflow to enable your people.

What about Voice-Enabled Reporting (V-ER)?  Wouldn’t it be great if your detectives could simply grab a phone, or a recorder, or an App, and simply talk?  And shortly thereafter, a written report is ready for review, accelerating information getting on-the-grid.  Think how much better the quality of the reports, the improved level of detail.  Wouldn’t you say more if you didn’t have to type it?  Taking into account that people speak at least 3x faster than they type (way more for 4 finger typists like me), think of the impact of reducing the time spent on documentation.  If you could free up hours of an investigator’s day, think of the force-multiplier effect.   I’ll bet that would improve conviction rates too.  Pursue more leads, close more cases.  V-ER is also a very effective Blue Flu Shot.

So ya see, you CAN do more with less. Really!

Abstract

Government agencies and departments, at all levels, are faced with heretofore unseen budget pressures and shortfalls. Many of the incentives and funding sources legislated within the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), have expired leaving government officials searching desperately for ways to protect basic and required services. While tightening capital expenditures is a piece of the puzzle, aggressively attacking recurring costs, staffing levels and workflow efficiencies has taken on increased importance.

No one would question the critical nature of the work done every day by law enforcement. Protecting its citizens is arguably the most important role of government. However, that doesn’t mean these departments are exempt from budget cuts and reductions in staff. Finding the balance between fiscal belt-tightening and public safety, challenges departments to take a fresh look at how they operate in a dogged pursuit of inefficiencies. Are there more effective ways to deploy resources? Are there functions which can be streamlined, or better served by an outside entity? Do processes exist simply because they’ve always been done that way? Do advances in technology make things possible today that weren’t in the past? Perhaps the most troubling aspect of this whole dilemma is the notion that controlling costs equates to cutting back on functionality -or at least not taking advantage of new capabilities.

Technology advances affect every aspect of American life. From license plate identification and facial recognition to the forensic tools as seen on popular TV shows, crime-fighting technology is making an impact. As such, the statistics provided by vendors often drive the ROI, generate grants, and gain political approval and funding. But like any other industry, law enforcement requires the essential IT infrastructure to conduct business. Unfortunately, in law enforcement, efficiencies and enabling technologies in this area have lagged behind other industries. There are many factors that have contributed to this fact. Certainly, lack of IT expertise and/or focus within a department has led to dependence on IT generalist from elsewhere in the government. Often, lost in translation is matching the right technology into the law enforcement workflow. Another factor is a mindset, perhaps unaware of today’s capabilities, that law enforcement requires such a high level of security that necessitates isolation from any and all other systems. Of course this prevents the effective utilization of IT resources – and staff. Additionally, any honest assessment of this issue requires the acknowledgement of political realities and motivations, which may hinder the sharing of information across jurisdictions or agencies.

Law Enforcement does in fact have many unique requirements. Solutions that attempt to sell into this market need to understand these nuances and be flexible enough to interoperate in an environment that may span multiple generations of technologies. A department may have the most advanced crime lab in the area, yet buy radio parts off of Ebay because the manufacturer sunset the product five years ago. And because IT companies are all about efficiencies derived by eliminating customization, yesterday’s vendors drove proprietary solutions and purposefully did not design with open architectures in mind. Unfortunately, most next-generation solutions either do not work backward to accommodate legacy systems – or they lack appreciation for the workflow required by law enforcement. The result is an inefficient collection of disparate, isolated, silos of information.

In summary, it is said that necessity is the mother of invention. In these times of unprecedented economic uncertainty and budget cuts, Law Enforcement officials must look for new and innovative ways to “do more with less”. It’s going to require new thinking, and a willingness to look at internal processes with more scrutiny than ever before. There are, in fact, many opportunities to drive efficiencies and reduce costs. Like most other aspects of departmental effectiveness, leadership and commitment are essential to driving the kinds of changes required to optimize the organization. Providing a clear and consistent message, both internally and to the vendor community is the surest indicator of success. Looking for public-private partnerships and insisting on vendors who embrace interoperability and cooperation will also pay dividends. The result will drive out inefficiencies and associated costs. But more importantly, connecting all of the various sources of information, and optimizing the workflow will also have a measurable impact on fighting crime.

AHIMA National Conference

http://www.ahima.org

October 1-6, 2011

Salt Lake City, Utah

International Association Of Chiefs of Police Annual Convention

http://www.theiacpconference.org

October 22-26, 2011

Chicago, Illinois

HIMSS National Conference

http://www.himss.org

February 20-24, 2012

Las Vegas, Nevada

Clinical Documentation Industry Alliance (CDIA) National Conference

http://www.mtia.com

April 18-21, 2012

Baltimore, Maryland

LEIM Training Conference and Technology Exposition

http://www.theiacp.org

May 21-23, 2012

Indianapolis, Indiana

NC FBINAA Conference (North Carolina Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates)

http://www.ncfbinaa.org

June 10-12, 2012

Wilmington,NC