CAD, RMS and other Law Enforcement Software shouldnāt be dictating how your agency gets its work done

If youāve been in law enforcement for very long, youāre sure to have heard all about where department policy and procedure comes from.Ā No, Iām not talking about that guy on night shift with the monogramed seat cover in the Chiefās office.Ā Iām talking about the āitās always been done that wayā phenomenon.Ā The best explanation Iāve heard of to illustrate this phenomenon is the āMonkey Experimentā.Ā (Itās not actually a real research experiment but does a good job of highlighting the principle.)
The long and short of it is that some researchers put several monkeys in a cage with some bananas hanging from a string in the middle.Ā Every time one of the monkeys try to get the bananas, the researchers sprayed all the monkeys with water.Ā Eventually, the monkeys learned to that the way to keep from getting sprayed, was to stop each other from getting the bananas.Ā At that point the researchers stopped spraying the monkeys.Ā Then, they introduced a new monkey who goes for the bananas and gets stopped by the others but is never sprayed.Ā They continue replacing monkeys until there are five monkeys in the cage that have never been sprayed but stop each other from getting the bananas.Ā At that point, you have a group of individuals who behave a certain way but canāt explain why.
Why does this happen in the first place?
We see this pretty frequently as we consult with agencies on how to improve their operations.Ā Itās been my experience that when you ask an agency about a certain form or process, they often reply with either, āOur Judge/Prosecutor wants it that wayā or āItās always been done that way here.āĀ We all know thereās not much that can be done about the way a judge or prosecutor wants things done, but when it comes to āitās always been that wayā, the root of that statement is almost always, ābecause thatās how our old software works.ā
It’s an understandable occurrence.Ā When Law Enforcement software was young, technology was young too.Ā With their hands tied by the limitations of existing technology, vendors had to make decisions about how their product could best serve as many agencies as possible.Ā Agencies also did the best they could to āimprovise, adapt and overcome,ā meaning they changed their practices to suit what was available to them.
To be clear, itās naĆÆve to think that this problem will ever go away.Ā 20 years from now, weāre hardly going to recognize the ācutting edge techā of today.Ā Whenās the last time you listened to an 8 track?Ā But thatās precisely the point.Ā The problem with software vendors and agencies alike, is failing to grow with technological advances; and itās a prevalent issue.
Solving the problem
Weāve all heard the old adage of, āif it aināt broke, donāt fix it.āĀ And for a lot of things in Law Enforcement, I couldnāt agree more.Ā Modern policing has lost touch with some tried and true enforcement practices in the name of āprogress.āĀ A cop that can solve a crime without surveillance footage is becoming a thing of the past, but I digress.
Todayās professionals understand that especially over the past few years, the Law Enforcement game has changed.Ā As an agency administrator, youāre being asked to do more than ever, with less than ever.Ā Weāre seeing more and more reporting mandates from State and Federal Governments.Ā Public engagement has changed significantly, and your agency needs to continue to adapt.
Your agencyās software plays a crucial role in streamlining the communication and paperwork of your agency.Ā As those needs change, you need a software tool that is committed to keeping up.Ā You shouldnāt be held back by your software products.Ā If you find yourself with outdated tools, or a vendor that is struggling to grow, itās time to look at EFORCEĀ® Software.
EFORCEĀ® Software is the most customizable āoff-the-shelfā product in the industry.Ā Itās as close as youāre going to get to a custom solution.Ā With features like Dynamic Forms and customizable workflow, EFORCEĀ® Softwareās solutions help you build a tool that works FOR your agency, not the other way around.Ā Weāre a company thatās invested in our mutual future together, and weāre committed to being the last software provider youāre going to need.
Give us a call at 888-570-4943, x. 3 or send as an email at [email protected], and letās talk about what our software can do for you.