Improving Efficiency Without Sacrificing Usability

The department turned to Mark43. The new company had previously worked with intelligence systems, but department leadership challenged them to create a system specifically designed for the needs of daily policing. Mark43 sent its entire management team to DC and embedded them in the police department. Technologists rode along with officers for hours each day, understanding how and why they do what they do. Officers themselves were also interacting with a demonstration version of Mark43’s software, learning how to use features and also providing feedback on how it worked for policing.

After a year and a half, Mark43’s solution was deployed within the police department. Training time on the new system went from 40 hours to half a day. Officers were able to complete reports more efficiently and more intuitively. Overall, the system was far easier to use and, as a result, the amount of time officers spent completing reports dropped considerably.

The new technology had an additional benefit. As the system was being deployed, the police department was faced with a hiring slowdown. Despite fewer resources, and because officers were spending far less time completing reports, they had more time to spend doing active police work, patrolling neighborhoods and building relationships with those in the community.

Creating a Support Team

Around the same time the department began exploring a new records management system, Bromeland started building an investigative support team. Working under the premise that modern investigations have become much more complex, this civilian team would help investigators make the most of the data and technology available to them for solving crimes. Bromeland started with a team of nine people with a strong technology background; he found a group of people in the community who were interested in law enforcement, but not necessarily interested in being officers. They were tasked with helping detectives and officers leverage internal data and analytics capabilities to bring new insights to investigations.

The investigative support team had to learn the 30 or so law enforcement systems and criminal justice databases utilized by the department. Those systems include the records management system, CAD system, radio communications, geospatial data tracking, individual data intake, corrections, and the city’s criminal justice portal, among many others.

At the start, detectives and officers were skeptical of the new support team. Many were unclear what the members of the unit could actually do for them. But as time passed and the unit began providing critical assistance, detectives soon realized how valuable the new unit would be as they conducted their investigations. For instance, shortly after the unit began operating, someone reported an armed robbery and a look-out for multiple suspects was voiced over the radio. While police were en route to the scene, the investigative support team began working. They were able to link up to the crime camera in the area and see who initially matched the lookout. They also pulled the alert from –the gunshot detection system and were able to determine that there was a shot fired around the same time as one of the subjects appeared to brandish a firearm on the video. The team also pulled GPS ankle bracelet supervision data to see if anyone under court-ordered supervision was in the area - they were. The investigative team was able to follow the individual back to an apartment and sent all of this new information in real-time to police officers as they were pulling up to the scene. Within an hour, the individuals involved in the robbery were identified and arrested without further incident. The investigative support team had begun to build their credibility throughout the department.

The investigative support team’s reputation for providing critical assistance with investigations became so well known that other departments and agencies in the area started asking for assistance from the team and have explored setting up similar units. The team has now grown to 15 positions.

The key for Washington DC was having talented personnel in place who understood the pain points police were facing each day. While they did not necessarily envision a career as a police officer, they still wanted to be involved with law enforcement and use their unique set of skills to pursue a career in public safety. According to Bromeland, finding these people meant being able to put technology tools to their best use. The organization realized new efficiencies in time saved and data management and were able to do so while improving public safety.