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