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Time is of the essence in most law enforcement scenarios. Having information readily available can make all the difference in the outcome of an incident. The more information a first responder has going into a call for service, the more efficiently and effectively they can respond. Now as personnel is at an all time low in the law enforcement world, time is more critical than ever. There are less boots on the ground to handle ever-increasing call loads as crime rates continue to grow, and countless hours are being directed toward recruiting additional staff that may not be there.
ForceMetrics’ team of engineers, data scientists, and former law enforcement have developed an application to close the information gap, allowing departments to more efficiently serve their communities with the officers already on hand. Providing lightning speed search and critical data insights above and beyond the standard CAD or RMS system, departments in several states are already seeing the value of the ForceMetrics platform. Intended to sit on top of current police systems, ForceMetrics streamlines existing data across sources into a single interface with modern search functionality, allowing officers and dispatchers the ability to find hidden information and narrow down a search like never before.
The Abilene (TX) Police Department is one of the early agencies experiencing the impact of the ForceMetrics platform. In a recent search the department conducted for an individual involved in drug activity, Abilene investigators had only a first name and numerics found in the background of a social media photo as their lead. Investigators spent the day attempting to locate the same house pictured in the social media post before the ForceMetrics team suggested searching the numerics in the ForceMetrics application. The app quickly narrowed the search down to five potential addresses, and the investigators voiced the time savings they could have seen had they had the technology at the start of their search.
In another instance, Texas Rangers were called in to help investigators looking for a reported kidnapped juvenile. The suspected kidnapping meant numerous search parties were organized, taking needed law enforcement personnel off of other calls. Yet upon searching the victim’s name within ForceMetrics, a narrative of a recent shoplifting incident was returned, where the suspect description matched that of the missing juvenile. With a kidnapping ruled out, the APD was then able to manage the case from there, relieving the Texas Rangers from the search to return their focus to other cases.
In a case where an ICAC team was searching for a female predator with a penchant for teen boys, the investigators found no results for the woman’s name in their RMS. Turning to ForceMetrics, searching the same name quickly generated information from a call note regarding an underage child in a park with a woman. Investigators pursued the new lead and were able to quickly determine the woman was the same predator they had been attempting to track down.
Having the right tools available can be transformative in the outcome of a call, easily making the difference between a cold case and a closed case. ForceMetrics is helping departments not only find information across databases faster, but also make sense of the data—enabling officers to recognize patterns and identify storylines in order to act quickly and decisively. With more accurate information and faster leads, our law enforcement can better utilize their existing resources and personnel to keep our communities safe.