How the Fremont Police Department uses CAD data to optimize staffing and resource allocation
Author
Staff
Peregrine
Published
June 20, 2023
Author
Staff
Peregrine
Published
June 20, 2023
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KEY IDEAS:
- Fremont Police Department needed to analyze CAD data to optimize staffing and resource allocation.
- Legacy CAD systems often lack the granularity to distinguish between call types and officer activity, requiring hours of manual analysis.
- Data integration platforms unify, clean, and enrich call data, enabling fast, accurate reporting.
- With integrated data, Fremont PD identified workload patterns, improved staffing decisions, and optimized patrol deployment.
💡 FREMONT POLICE DEPARTMENT (FPD) AT A GLANCE:
Location: Fremont, California
Established: 1958
Population: Approx. 228,192
Sworn count: Approx. 205
Total personnel: Approx. 330
Sources: FPD, U.S. Census
FREMONT, Calif. — The Fremont Police Department (FPD), like many other state and local public safety agencies, is currently managing recruitment and retention challenges. As Fremont PD assessed the number of available resources, the chief and command team recognized the need to use dispatched call data to inform staffing decisions and officer deployment across the city’s three patrol zones during peak call time. Personnel also needed to consider factors such as call priority and type of call.
However, collecting and analyzing this CAD data posed a challenge. Fremont PD personnel needed a deep understanding of complex call data, but the agency’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system lacked the data granularity needed for a thorough analysis. Without a data analytics solution, analysts would have had to manually log and categorize each call — an effort that would take days.
As a solution, Fremont PD implemented Peregrine, a data integration platform that ingested and clarified data from the agency’s CAD and other sources. Peregrine’s automated analysis transformed raw CAD data into meaningful, actionable insights in seconds, not hours. Keep reading to learn how the Fremont Police Department used CAD data analytics to optimize staffing, balance workloads, and improve patrol deployment.
Before partnering with Peregrine, Fremont PD grappled with accurately analyzing dispatched calls — instances when an individual calls 911 and police respond — due to the complex variables and features associated with each call type in their existing CAD system.
READ MORE → Benefits of 911-CAD Software Integration
The CAD system does not provide the data granularity required to differentiate between some types of on-view calls versus dispatched calls. This general classification of calls for service did not allow for the complex analysis needed to make informed decisions on personnel allocation and shift schedules.
💡 HOW DO CAD SYSTEMS IMPACT POLICE STAFFING DECISIONS?
Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems capture data about calls for service, including:
- Caller information
- Incident type
- Unit assignment
- Time stamps for any actions
However, many legacy systems lack the granularity to filter between different call types or officer activity. Agencies need accurate, well-structured data to make informed staffing and deployment decisions.
Effective data integration solutions unify police agencies’ previously siloed data sources and apply intelligent analysis to deliver meaningful insights. These platforms ensure personnel can make full use of their agencies’ data.
Fremont PD’s Lt. Ramin Mahboobi, known for his data-driven mindset, assessed the agency’s data and sought a solution that would truly empower his department to make well-informed, data-driven decisions to enhance its deployment structure.
🔎 HOW DOES DATA INTEGRATION IMPROVE CAD DATA ANALYSIS? Data integration solutions unify CAD data with other agency systems, then clean, categorize, and enrich raw CAD data with relevant information. Personnel can easily filter, analyze, and visualize contextualized CAD data to understand call volume and trends.
Peregrine's dedicated Fremont PD deployment team worked closely with the agency’s Crime Analysis and Dispatch teams to build a configurable set of filters that could accurately identify and redefine a dispatched call:
READ MORE → From Hours to Minutes: Harnessing Data for Community Safety
With Peregrine, Fremont PD generates this new insight about each call in seconds. Previously, it would have taken an analyst hours or days to tediously tag calls for service to replicate the same analysis.
Of course, understanding data is only half the battle. For Mahboobi, the next step was leveraging the knowledge gained from Peregrine to make better decisions about staffing models.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: CAD data analysis helps police departments make informed staffing decisions by…
- Reavealing information about call volume, priority calls, and peak times
- Supporting more efficient staffing and deployment
- Enabling agencies to balance workloads without losing coverage
“Data-driven decisions improved our patrol schedules and resource allocation. Peregrine has been instrumental in helping us deeply understand our data.” —Lt. Ramin Mahboobi, Fremont Police Department
As a result of working with Peregrine, Fremont PD was able to clarify that a portion of the calls for service volume were officer-initiated calls, which unlocked a more accurate approach to adjust staffing to better serve the community.
“Data-driven decisions improved our patrol schedules and resource allocation,” said Mahboobi. “Peregrine has been instrumental in helping us deeply understand our data.”
CASE STUDY → Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office: Instant, In-House Staffing Analysis to Optimize Patrol
Peregrine provided the context that Mahboobi used to build the best possible patrol staffing plan. Those insights would have otherwise been inaccessible due to Fremont PD’s legacy systems and the complexity of the data required to get to the right answer. As a result, Mahboobi built a shift model with a more equitable and sustainable workload for officers and optimal service for Fremont residents.
🔑 KEY TAKEAWAY: Data-driven staffing improves efficiency, response times, and workload balance by…
- Aligning staffing levels with peak times
- Improving resource allocation
- Ensuring adequate backup during busy shifts
- Reducing workload imbalances
- Shortening response times
As law enforcement agencies navigate more demanding workloads with smaller staffs, leaders must optimize their resource deployment to maintain community safety without sacrificing officers’ well-being. Data integration and analysis helps agencies make use of critical data — including CADs, records management systems, and other data sources — to visualize optimal staffing structures.
READ MORE → Advanced Data Analytics for Modern Policing
Before implementing Peregrine, Fremont PD wasn’t able to action its raw CAD data. After unifying its data, personnel were able to accurately analyze workload and shift productivity. Ultimately, this meant helping Fremont PD make data-driven decisions for resource allocation and planning.
“Peregrine was integral in helping us shape our deployment schedule,” said Mahboobi. “We were able to make adjustments based on the data and ensure officer safety, while also effectively serving our community.”
Change the way your department operates — for the better. To learn how Peregrine helps public safety agencies solve their most challenging problems, contact us today.
Peregrine is built on AWS GovCloud.
Law enforcement agencies use computer-aided dispatch (CAD) data to understand call volume, trends, and priorities. CAD data helps police leaders identify optimal shift schedules, ensuring agencies have enough patrol coverage and backup during peak times.
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