Law enforcement technology is transforming policing by promoting efficiency, increasing safety, and guiding data-driven decisions. But as agencies modernize, they also have to navigate tech-related challenges, including ethical and legal considerations, budget concerns, and outdated or fragmented technology. Sophisticated data integration and analytics solutions can reduce some barriers to modernization by unifying siloed systems and simplifying tech stacks. Keep reading to explore the latest technology developments in law enforcement, including potential pitfalls and emerging solutions.

What is law enforcement technology, and what is it used for?

Since the introduction of the taser in 1966, police tech has evolved to keep officers safe, gather evidence, improve situational awareness, aid in investigations, and store and analyze information. Analysts, officers, investigators, and command staff leverage multiple systems to guide their decisions. That often includes physical police technology equipment, such as:

Fingerprint readers

• Surveillance cameras
• Body-worn cameras
• Mobile data computers
• License plate recognition (LPR) systems
• Drone technology

Personnel also rely on software solutions that make agencies more efficient, such as digital records management systems (RMS), computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems, and GPS navigation. Now, leaders are looking to build on these foundations and level up their operations.

Emerging law enforcement technologies

With more technology than ever at their disposal, agencies need a way to synthesize their disparate inputs, quickly identify and disseminate useful information, and reduce menial work. Emerging technology aims to enhance current solutions by better organizing, processing, analyzing, and integrating various data sources. The next few years will see a focus on the following solutions:

Sophisticated video monitoring

Video surveillance helps law enforcement agencies collect evidence, identify suspects, and enhance real-time policing efforts. With remote video monitoring, real-time personnel can gain situational awareness before arriving on the scene to enhance safety and inform strategy. Advanced systems may be able to notify personnel when anomalies occur, and some programs employ biometrics for identification.

Effective data integration solutions

Each new piece of technology gathers valuable data but, in many cases, stores that data in a silo. Until recently, agencies haven’t been able to view or manipulate all of their data at once in a cohesive, unified platform. An effective data integration solution ingests data from multiple sources, providing context and allowing personnel to manipulate, analyze, and action their data in its entirety.

Advanced data integration platforms feature a customizable interface, granular user controls, dynamic visualizations, automated reporting, and supercharged data analysis tools. This enables personnel at every level to get the information they need, when they need it.

For example, real-time analysts can track up-to-the-minute intelligence and deliver situational awareness to patrol officers. Investigators can use a single query to search their agency’s historical data, LPR systems, and video surveillance, allowing command staff to create data visualizations to inform their resource allocation.

Powerful, targeted AI tools

An effective data integration platform such as Peregrine further enhances insights through artificial intelligence (AI). Intentional AI solutions help reduce clutter, making existing data more useful. Personnel spend less time sifting through messy data and performing rote tasks, freeing them up for more complex and rewarding work. Effective applications of AI include:

• Entity resolution
• Generating summaries for individuals or case dossiers
• Tagging and organizing unstructured data
• Performing data analysis

License plate recognition systems

LPR systems continuously scan passing vehicles, capturing information far faster than a patrol officer’s manual ability. LPR systems can run a vehicle’s license plate against relevant databases, identifying links to arrests or warrants. This can help speed up investigations by identifying and tracking vehicles connected to crimes, such as missing persons cases, hit-and-run incidents, or carjackings.

Considerations and challenges of law enforcement technology

Public safety leaders face unique hurdles when implementing new technologies. Police agencies must handle sensitive data responsibly, and any missteps could result in severe consequences. Common challenges include siloed systems, ineffective data sharing, and privacy concerns.

Data silos

Data silos are an especially prevalent issue for law enforcement agencies. To solve one case, an investigator might leverage information from five different source systems, each of which gathers, processes, and stores data differently. When disparate systems do not communicate with each other, the result is fragmented information stored in siloed datasets, leaving the investigator to manually search, export, and look for connections.

Breaking down data silos is a complex issue: Agencies must consider regulatory, privacy, and security concerns, and their personnel might be resistant to change or skeptical of integration technology. But modern data solutions for law enforcement promise a solution. An effective data integration platform ingests nearly any type of data — from internal or external sources — then cleans and organizes it into a unified data asset. As a result, agencies can fully manipulate and action 100% of their data, without manual effort.

Information sharing

Effective interagency collaboration makes it easier to identify trends, strategize coordinated responses, and tackle issues such as transient crimes and overdose trends that often cross jurisdictional lines. But agencies often operate in technical and cultural silos, meaning key information is fragmented across several local, county, or state entities. Personnel may be hesitant to collaborate, or they may be wary of data sharing due to security concerns.

Additionally, agencies use different tech solutions that process and code data differently. As a result, they lack consistency among datasets and struggle to create a common operating picture.

A shared data integration solution alleviates these issues by ingesting and harmonizing data across multiple systems. With a CJIS-compliant platform, agencies can choose what information to share according to state regulations and data sharing policies. These platforms also manage security on an individual level with granular user controls.

Privacy and civil liberties

While new systems can make operations safer and more efficient, agencies also have to navigate public concerns over police technology, especially around increased surveillance. Law enforcement leaders must be transparent with their communities, proactively create guardrails, and craft effective policies that dictate how information is gathered, stored, and used.

To enhance security, agencies should consider investing in a CJIS-compliant data integration platform that’s committed to data privacy and security. Integration solutions restrict who can access certain information through strict user controls, limit where users can access sensitive information, and allow agencies to opt in to sharing specific data externally. Additionally, secure platforms are fully traceable and auditable.

Elevate your agency’s police tech

New technology in law enforcement has the potential to revolutionize how agencies operate, creating safer, more efficient environments. As agencies explore emerging solutions like AI, video monitoring, LPR systems, and sophisticated data integration platforms, they also need to be wary of common pitfalls.

A trustworthy, vendor-agnostic data integration platform like Peregrine breaks down data silos, promotes interagency collaboration, and protects communities’ most critical and sensitive data. To learn how Peregrine can support your agency’s growth and digital transformation, contact our team today.