Making Sense of Disjointed Data: Improving Public Safety By Turning Data Into Action

Public safety agencies gather data from a variety of technologies, such as body cams, license plate readers, computer-aided dispatch (CAD) and records management systems (RMS), generating masses of data from across communities. While on the outside, this information answers the public’s call for greater transparency and accountability, internally, these systems haven’t been made to talk to each other. There’s no lack of data being brought in by these systems, but agencies are unable to make sense of the data and use it to their advantage, especially when experiencing historically high staffing shortages. In the end, collecting more data doesn’t always translate into more efficient or effective responses. 

Agencies need a new mindset, one that focuses on accessibility and visibility rather than solely data collection. A unified platform can connect multiple data sources so everyone in the organization, such as dispatch, patrol, command staff, investigations, and analysts, can make better, more informed decisions. The result is safer communities who are more trusting of the agencies protecting them. 

“Trust is really built through accountability, and accountability requires visibility and understanding of [the] data,” said Jason Truppi, CTO and Co-founder of ForceMetrics. “When agencies can show the public how decisions are being made and what data supports them, the conversation completely changes.” 

In this video interview, Truppi explains that the issue isn’t necessarily adding technology to collect more data, but easily surfacing that data and using it to make confident, informed decisions on calls and throughout investigations.

Topics include the following:  

• Avoiding missing critical information buried in fragmented data  
• Allocating resources more efficiently through data insights
• Using context to reduce friction with the public