How a data driven policing environment elevates your department’s potential

Today’s police departments must embrace change to consistently refine their service to the public. Over the years, new public safety technologies have come into focus that help make officers’ jobs easier, safer and more efficient. But perhaps no tools have grown to be more important than those that promote data driven policing. A policing operation grounded in data is paramount for stronger public trust, greater officer protection and faster crime-solving. In this article, we’ll explore what data driven policing looks like, how it can enhance your strategies and what tools can help you bridge any data gaps in your operations.

What is data driven policing?

Data driven policing is the process of gathering and analyzing information from all areas of your operations and using the findings to guide decision-making. From the fleet to officer activities in the field and evidence collection, tapping into the wealth of data that’s available today can help you develop smarter policing strategies and gain unbiased insight into your operations.

How does data driven policing enhance officer safety?

Data driven policing increases officer safety in a number of ways, beyond just greater physical protection alone. Data from technologies like body cameras can help confirm that an officer responded appropriately to a situation and provide critical evidence to back up (or refute) accounts of events in the field. Let’s look at four of the primary ways data can help protect your officers.

Promotes safer driving: Vehicle data collection sheds critical light into the ways your officers are driving their vehicles when in pursuit versus not in pursuit. By monitoring driving behaviors with a police fleet management solution, you can gain an objective picture of where driver safety may need to improve. Additionally, advanced safety features like those offered through Geotab’s Safety Center can help you accurately gauge risk in your fleet operations. Our Predictive Collision Risk (PCR) and Safety Benchmarking capabilities enable you to forecast your police fleet’s likelihood of a collision over its next 100,000 miles or kilometers and compare your safety metrics against similar fleets, respectively. Look ahead and not strictly in the rearview mirror by using these AI-enabled tools to drive down safety risks in your fleet and help protect your officers while they’re on the road.

Transparency or exoneration: Data can serve as critical evidence that enables you to more definitely determine if wrongdoing occurred or if the facts of a situation are being distorted. Whether the data is from a vehicle, a body camera or a digital trail, relying on a combination of objective insights to examine a scenario’s events can help remove potential biases and foster greater transparency, which also builds public trust. Remember: In police services, data always tells the truth.

Faster backup: During volatile situations where time is a premium resource, having GPS locational data to know precisely where an undermanned officer is can make it easier to send faster assistance. Location-based dispatching involves routing the nearest available personnel in the field to an officer who needs support. By providing backup based on proximity, time is saved and risks to officer safety can be reduced.

Incident reporting: All incident reporting should be supported by data to maintain accuracy and help identify the best ways to help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. For example, in the instance of a police vehicle collision, Geotab’s Collision Reconstruction feature can help you study data about the events leading up to, during and after the incident and determine fault. If the data indicates a shortcoming in the way your vehicle was being driven, you can create new safety policies that can help prevent the risk of a similar incident happening again. Additionally, if the collision was the fault of another driver, the data can help exonerate the officer involved and help protect your department’s reputation.

How does data driven policing boost efficiency and cost savings?

Data-driven policing also offers significant improvements in efficiency and cost savings for police departments. Let's examine some key areas where these benefits are realized.

• Optimized maintenance: Real-time vehicle diagnostics help you know when the best time for vehicle service is. With data-driven maintenance, you can reduce the chances of unexpected breakdowns, help extend vehicle lifespans and potentially save on repair costs.
• Improved fleet performance: Analyzing aggressive driving patterns, safety benchmarking data and collision risk metrics can help your department reduce risk, vehicle maintenance expenses and fuel consumption. With Geotab’s Maintenance Center, you can view all your police vehicles’ maintenance schedules and diagnostic data from a single place. Optimize your fleet’s maintenance budget by leveraging a data driven approach to vehicle care.
• Increased situational awareness: Tracking lights, sirens and gun rack usage can help you keep your finger on the pulse of field activities from department HQ and maintain fluid coordination of your department’s resources. Additionally, monitoring vehicle speeds can provide key clues into a situation’s status, while major and minor collision detection allows you to know if an incident has occurred before an officer has to radio it in.
• Better operational agility: Data-driven insights allow for optimized patrol routes and more efficient resource allocation, maximizing the value of departmental investments. Plus, by analyzing historical crime data, traffic patterns and event schedules, your department can identify high-risk areas and times, adjusting patrol routes to maximize officer presence where it's most needed. This targeted approach reduces wasted time and fuel spent on low-priority areas.

Ultimately, data driven policing empowers departments to make informed decisions that lead to safer, more efficient and cost-effective operations.

What tools can help foster a data driven environment for law enforcement agencies?

A variety of technologies and tools are available today to create a truly data driven ecosystem for police departments to thrive in. For collecting data, reporting on it and analyzing the results, dynamic systems like these are being used by modern law enforcement agencies.

• Evidence management systems
• Fleet management solutions
• Cameras (both body-worn cameras and video telematics)
• Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems
• Digital forensics platforms
• Gun rack and lights and siren integrations
• Cabin temperature tracking systems
• Cloud technology
• The Internet of Things (IoT)

Using these technologies in concert with one another can enable your department to run a more connected operation and eliminate data siloing. Enhance your police department’s intelligence through modern tools that make it easy to rely on data for critical decision-making.

Smarter policing awaits with operations backed by insights

In conclusion, data driven policing offers a transformative approach to modern law enforcement. By harnessing the power of information, departments can enhance officer safety, improve operational efficiency, achieve cost savings and build greater public trust. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for data driven policing to revolutionize public safety grows, paving the way for smarter, safer and more effective law enforcement strategies. 

To learn more about how fleet management tools can help you deploy a data driven approach to policing, read our latest ebook. To learn more about how Geotab’s solution can help you extract valuable fleet data, schedule a 1:1 consultation with us.