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| Navigating challenges with digital innovations |
| Exploring law enforcement technology solutions |
Law enforcement agencies are tasked with the immense and essential duty of keeping our communities safe. As the type of threats communities face becomes more complex, law enforcement personnel need innovative solutions that enable them to keep on top of safety threats and investigations. Helping police and other law enforcement agencies stay up to date on best practices in their field is one of the chief objectives of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP).
This year’s IACP Conference and Exposition, one of North America’s largest law enforcement events, takes place in Boston from October 19 through 22. More than 16,000 public safety professionals are expected to attend, seeking to advance their careers and discover new ways to better perform their critical work. The exposition hall will host more than 600 vendors presenting products and services developed to help law enforcement boost the effectiveness of their work.
The theme of this year’s conference is “Equipped to Innovate”. While law enforcement agencies are always seeking ways to improve and even reinvent the ways they do their jobs, the need to innovate has become more and more pressing in recent years.
Navigating challenges with digital innovations
One of the fundamental challenges law enforcement agencies have been facing is the problem of sufficient staffing. A 2023 survey conducted by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) showed that agencies are losing officers faster than they can hire new ones. Though there have been some signs that the situation is improving, the general trend over the past few years is that total sworn staffing continues to decline.
This is one of the key reasons—though certainly not the only one—why the incorporation of advanced technology into law enforcement practices has become increasingly crucial. With qualified officers in short supply, agencies need to turn to digital tech to help maintain public safety.
In fact, this year’s IACP Conference and Exposition will include 35 presentations in an “Emerging Technology and Innovations in Policing” education track.
Experts will be presenting on topics covering:
- The incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into policing procedures
- Information sharing and data analysis between agencies in different regions and states
- Advances in the use of DNA evidence, drones, and real-time crime centers
With its potential to transform many professions (not just law enforcement), it’s probably not surprising that nearly a third of this year’s presentations will be devoted to the use of AI and machine learning.
Exploring law enforcement technology solutions
As these IACP conference topic examples demonstrate, law enforcement agencies are committed to using digital technology wherever possible to more effectively uncover, monitor, and prevent criminal activity. What’s happening more, they are constantly seeking out innovative solutions that can make their efforts more effective and efficient, particularly given the challenges of staffing and other resource shortages.
One of the vendors at this year’s IACP’s annual conference and exposition is Thomson Reuters, which has been presenting at the event for more than six years. Company representatives will be on hand at booth #1928 to discuss and demonstrate its technology solutions for law enforcement. Though perhaps best known for its products and services to the legal community, Thomson Reuters also has been developing a wide range of innovative digital solutions designed to help investigators and related professionals in numerous fields gather and analyze large quantities of public data. This data can reveal patterns revealing records and locations of individuals who might be engaged in illicit activity.
For law enforcement, one of the most useful Thomson Reuters technology solutions is its CLEAR investigative platform. More and more agencies nationwide have been using CLEAR as a kind of force multiplier, revealing hidden connections in both real-time and historical public records data and delivering that crucial information quickly. This in turn helps law enforcement officers speed up investigations, thus boosting both officer safety and community well-being.
Thomson Reuters’ recent eBook ‘ Leveraging technology in law enforcement. How to choose cutting-edge and user friendly tools’, discusses how law enforcement agencies can successfully incorporate the latest digital innovations into their crime-fighting practices. Law enforcement agencies can find out more by visiting Thomson Reuters’ booth #1928 at the 2024 IACP Annual Conference and Exposition.
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