Public safety agencies – responsible for policing, justice and national intelligence – face unprecedented challenges in the digital age. At a time when citizens and criminals are becoming increasingly tech-savvy, most law enforcement organizations are facing budget cuts and workforce reductions. Meanwhile in the US community relations are at an all-time low, putting officers and police actions under heightened scrutiny.
A recent Accenture survey of 165 leaders within police, justice and intelligence agencies across nine countries (U.S., Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Singapore and the UK) found that financial constraints, increased citizen demands, and the need to modernize are the three biggest challenges facing police leaders.
However, these challenges do not necessarily mean a less-active police force. Law enforcement should seize the opportunity to re-shape their workforces, transform operating processes and deploy new intelligent technologies to support their operations and investigations.
Intelligent Technologies come of age
New intelligent technologies (such as data and video analytics, biometrics, Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning) will fundamentally change policing in the years ahead, offering public safety agencies huge opportunities for transformation. While some agencies such as the Seattle Police Department have already made strides deploying intelligent technologies such as analytics, most are struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation.
Research found a majority of police leaders (85 percent) are willing and ready to adopt and support implementation of next-generation technologies. However, significant barriers exist to implementation – notably the existence of out-dated IT legacy systems, lack of internal skills, and an inability to hire the talent required to implement impactful technological change. As a result, only half (53 percent) of respondents have adapted their organizational model to take advantage of new technologies.
Some agencies are taking steps to deploy more familiar technologies, especially those that will help with data management and operational objectives. The research found that advanced analytics and predictive modelling techniques are being leveraged by 61 percent of respondents. Police Forces like Seattle PD are currently implementing analytics solutions to provide leadership with enhanced reporting and analytical capabilities relating to police operations and investigations, including the creation of system alerts to improve monitoring and oversight of policing activities. In Europe law enforcement agencies such as the London Metropolitan Police Service (Scotland Yard) have piloted predictive analytics technologies to help combat gang crime in the city. Despite the relatively high use of data analytics solutions, respondents reported limited use of video analytics, with less than a third (30 percent) saying they were piloting the technology despite the clear benefits of video analytics for the policing of urban areas and public events.
Similarly, just over half (51 percent) of survey respondents are deploying biometrics, despite the availability of mobile biometric devices to capture biometrics details (fingerprints, facial image etc.) of suspects in the field.
And while two-thirds (66 percent) of respondents were aware of the Internet of Things, only a quarter (22 percent) are either piloting or implementing IoT related projects. Despite these low adoption rates, there are pockets of innovation in the use of wearables (including body-worn cameras) and equipment with embedded sensors. The City of San Francisco has recorded a 35% reduction in firearms related violence since deploying streetlight sensors, which detect gunfire and alert authorities to incidents, elsewhere police departments in both Santa Cruz County, California, and Carrollton, Texas, have also tested new smart-gun technology.
Collaboration & Knowledge Exchange
Another factor impacting the deployment of new technologies is a lack of industry role models. Three-quarters of survey respondents said they study successful implementations of intelligent technologies from the private sector, and less than one-quarter (23 percent) said they look to public sector implementations for best practices. Collaborating with universities, research institutes and innovative companies can help public safety agencies develop and importantly implement and adopt innovative solutions to operational challenges. In the U.K., Accenture serves as an Innovation and Integration partner (IIP) to West Midlands Police, helping to support the agency deliver its WMP2020 transformation program. Interestingly, two-thirds of respondents said they are willing to embrace public-private partnerships and new commercial models (65 percent) and to consider “as-a-service” models for technology deployments (67 percent). A similar proportion of respondents (65 percent say they have teamed with the private sector to some extent already to meet increased citizen service demands (65 percent).
Take Action
Education is an important first step in helping policing and law enforcement agencies understand the transformation potential of intelligent technologies. The private sector has a responsibility to keep their public sector peers informed about new innovations and technologies and to showcase the positive impact they can have today and into the future. Thankfully, police and other public safety bodies are inherently practical and innovative, as evidenced by their everyday problem-solving. Ensuring broad and fast adoption of intelligent technologies is the best way to ensure that agencies will be prepared to combat the next generation of public safety threats.
The annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference (IACP) will take place October 15-18 in San Diego. Jody Weis a retired superintendent of Chicago Police Department and Director of Accenture Police Services in North America will attend IACP and present his views on how new intelligent technologies are set to transform policing in the years ahead.
