Efficient management of data is a vital activity of law enforcement. Digitization of law enforcement records with the help of a documents scanning service could improve the efficiency of the department and the information can be shared among different law enforcement agencies more easily and readily. Digital law enforcement records enable police, sheriffs and state troopers to ensure easy storing and accessing of files and reduce operating costs. Critical documents and files like photos, videos, and audio files can be digitized and stored in a secure environment. It helps you eliminate paper, speed up processes and provide secure, instant access to safety personnel in the field and in the office.
Reasons for Digitizing Law Enforcement Records
- Reduce Cost: Digitization can be an expensive process due to the cost associated with purchasing modern scanning and digitizing technology. Hiring a professional digitization service is more affordable; it also makes the process less time-consuming and improves business efficiency. The return on investment is substantial as it can save thousands of hours of retrieval time while also reducing the need for expensive storage space.
- Excellent Quality Scanned Images: Digitization provides high quality images of fingerprints and other files which makes the records more valuable and reliable. Digitization offers high resolution scanning, assuring robust duplication of vital records.
- Control of Records: Management of sensitive information and leaving it to the control of a third-party vendor is always a concern. However, reliable digitization services ensure utmost confidentiality and, in some cases, they also offer scanning at your facility. Many services which provide scanning facility have equipment and staffing which ensure scanning of records without leaving the building.
Advanced Technologies Law Enforcement Could Utilize
Unlike other industries, law enforcement has always been early adopters of the latest technology. Digital cameras, body camera, detection of traffic regulation violations, high speeding etc are all instances of utilization of advanced technology. Today, technology has advanced even more and the following are the latest additions that would help improve the efficiency of the law enforcement sector.
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning (AI and ML): AI and ML helps law enforcement departments to prevent and manage crimes. Law enforcement uses huge volumes of information about individuals, criminals, their history, ongoing cases, closed cases, investigation reports, jail reports etc. With AI and ML, it becomes easier to make a connection between disparate systems. New algorithms can improve investigations and help law enforcement agencies make better decisions regarding detention, prosecution and punishment. For example, risk score is an AI-generated risk scoring system that is used to evaluate a suspect based on their history and other data to make better decisions about whether they should be held pre-trial.
- Big Data: The police department deals with huge volumes of data. Data harvested from the Internet of Things can be analyzed and studied to understand the latest trends using predictive analysis. The Chicago Police Department has teamed up with the University of Chicago Crime Lab to provide real-time data analysis to increase the effectiveness of policing in two of the city’s highest crime districts. License plate recognition has been installed in the areas together with ShotSpotter, a system that can locate exactly when and where gunshots were fired.
- Electronic Monitoring System: Many police agencies use house arrest practice with advanced technologies like electronic monitoring system when criminals are prosecuted for minor offenses, and they present little to no risk to the community. These criminals can serve a sentence in their home and the officials can monitor them using electronic monitoring systems. It provides constant, intense surveillance via GPS monitoring, audio and visual recording, and other technology-based solutions. This can keep them out of jail, ultimately saving communities.
- Pre Crime Technology: As the saying goes” Prevention is better than cure”, adopting the best ways to prevent a crime from happening is the best way to limit crimes; and, technology can be used for crime prevention. For example, ShotSpotter is a technology used by the police department in Chicago, which triangulates information to identify the exact location of gunshots. Face recognition is another technology that helps to identify individuals who are wanted for crimes, by comparing their faces to those of known offenders in the database. It also has eye detection software and motion and sensor technology are also being used to identify psychological and physical behavior of the suspects and find out if they are telling the truth. This helps to prevent any crime from happening.
- Better Office Protection: Technology is not just used for identifying criminals but it also helps to protect officers using devices like smart belt that is worn by the officers. It can automatically alert the officer in case of any issue or trouble. This is possible by collecting real time, and also ensures improved safety for officers responding to calls data the efficiency of the advanced technology that helps the safety of the officers. Other digital tools like drones, robotic cameras and small robots also assists officers in their investigations.
For any system to work well, data is vital. Law enforcement departments use huge volumes of data that needs to be converted into digital format with the help of a data conversion service. They enable easy conversion of images and documents into digital formats and have trained employees to manage large volumes of data; they assure accuracy in conversion of data. They also ensure that the data is kept confidential. There have been a number of law enforcement agencies that have undertaken a major digitizing effort which has resulted in reduced labor, faster retrieval times, and the need for less storage space.
