Real-world benefits of mobile computing:

Law enforcement applications

 

The classical approach to building information systems in law enforcement has been to design what is most often called a records management system.  The very use of this term illustrates the underlying premise in the design and construction of the system; namely, to take some portion of the manual records stored in a records room and duplicate them on a computer.  The justification for duplication of these manual records in a computerized form is that it is easier and faster to count the crimes that occur for Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) purposes, and that it is possible to search and find the records faster and with more flexibility than by going through paper files.

 

In seeking to achieve these limited objectives, the design and implementation of records systems has been driven primarily by the desire to automate the forms that are stored manually.  For many police departments, this automation, while helpful in some respects, has often generated more work than added value to the process.  Depending on the quality of the design and implementation, the results of automation may be more frustrating than the paper-based process it intends to support.

 

New Models in Information Technology

 

Today’s thinking in information technology provides a number of new models which can be helpful in the design of law enforcement information technology.  Contemporary thinkers have suggested that the design of modern information systems must be intricately linked to the processes that such technology is designed to support, rather than simply automating paper records.  Further, the re-engineering of these processes should be a predecessor to defining information technology applications, so that we do not simply automate what exists. The automation of a flawed or unnecessary process just results in a faster bad process.

 

This paradigm shift in the development of law enforcement technology offers a unique opportunity to re-design applications from the perspective of the law enforcement processes rather than from the mere desire to computerize manual records.  One of the major implications of such a new approach is that agencies are taking a fresh look at the processes in which field personnel are engaged, with a view toward using technology to  make these processes more effective by providing improved tools for the field officer. Designing technology from the viewpoint of the field results in very different kinds of software applications than have been implemented in the conventional CAD/RMS systems that have been created over the years. 

 

Such a field-based computing perspective is particularly compelling now because of the introduction of mobile computing technology that is reliable and economical.  It has only been possible to consider this perspective in the last few years, and perhaps only now, in 1995-1996, has enough technology  been proven to support the more ambitious implications of field-based computing.

 

Given the advent of the new capabilities of mobile computing, it is important to define in advance how this technology can support the increased effectiveness and productivity gains sought by law enforcement executives, and the new models of policing that have emerged in recent years. The potential benefits of using this new approach are fundamental to making decisions to deploy this technology or to make it a part of an agency’s information technology strategy. The intent of this paper is to document the real-world benefits of mobile computing and it’s  extensions to the law enforcement mobile office to make clear the ultimate value of this technology.  The use of the term “real-world” is intended to imply that the benefits described here are not features of technology, but rather a compendium of what this technology can do in actual law enforcement practice to add value to the processes it supports.

 

The Mobile Environment

 

Mobile computing in law enforcement covers a host of alternative technologies.  With respect to the hardware, the technology includes hand-held computers, the so-called “tablet” computers (primarily pen-based), and full size notebook

computers with attached keyboards (with or without pen input).  In software, mobile computing includes simple mobile digital terminal emulation (messaging, NCIC access, etc.), field data reporting, the development of a field knowledge base, and the associated software for interfacing and message switching.  Additional supporting software includes mapping displays, handwriting recognition, and voice recognition for dictating narrative components.

 

In addition to the mobile computer and associated software, there are a number of supporting technologies that can by employed to further enhance the value contributed by the use of mobile computing technology. Given the existence of a mobile computer in the field, add-on technologies can include  automatic vehicle location (AVL), magnetic stripe or bar-code readers, digital photography, field printing (such as for citations or reports), fingerprint scanners, and voice input.

 

Real World Benefits

 

The broad general benefits that can be achieved with mobile computing technology are really a function of the combination of hardware and software deployed, and the supporting technologies used.  However, we can explore the basic benefits achievable by assuming that a typical system would include mobile communications (with dispatch, queries to NCIC, local messaging) and field data reporting (incident, accident, field contact, etc.)  Given this specific implementation, the following benefits can be realized:

 

Reduced radio congestion.  The use of digital technology to make queries, respond to dispatch calls, report status changes, and handle digital car-to-car messaging will reduce radio traffic by anywhere from 10 to 40%. To confirm this figure, try capturing a day of radio traffic in any typical police agency and look at the transactions by type.  You will find that the bulk of the traffic falls into one of the above-mentioned categories.  Many agencies estimate up to a 50% reduction in radio traffic following the introduction of mobile computing or even mobile digital terminal systems.

Lighter dispatcher workload.  This benefit is a function of how the communications center is organized, but there is no question that digital technology reduces dispatcher workload.  Even with a good CAD system, without mobile computing the dispatcher must make status entries into the CAD system, issue call assignments on the radio (with occasional repeats), and make state/NCIC inquiries and pass the results back to the inquiring unit.  All of these activities can be performed by officers in the field using mobile computers rather than by dispatch personnel.
 
Many agencies use a dedicated information channel which is separately staffed for this purpose.  With such a dedicated position, the use of mobile computing for this function can save the typical 5.2 persons it takes to staff one full-time position.  For agencies using cost savings as a justification of mobile computing, it is easy to calculate a savings of $30,000 per person (including fringe)  times 5 persons times the life cycle of 5 years for this technology to show a cost savings of $750,000 for this change alone.  Furthermore, there are equipment and floor space savings associated with reducing dispatch staff as well as other overhead that could easily save another $50,000 per year.  The  resulting total savings could be as high as  $1 million over five years, just by saving the cost of this position.
 

Improved supervision and resource management.  With the mobile computing messaging capability connected to a CAD system, field supervisors can easily know what their units are assigned to, revise assignments as appropriate to ensure that the best available resources are sent to each individual call, and know when the available staffing is likely to be insufficient.  Sergeants in the field can override the dispatch assignment (if they are allowed to do so) to achieve more effective utilization of their resources.

Cost savings  from avoiding paper.  The product of police work is paper.  Incident, accident, arrest, field contact, citation and other documents are the physical end result of many law enforcement processes. With the use of field-generated, computer-based reports, it is possible to eliminate the generation of the original paper.  Paper need not be the medium of information exchange within the police organization itself.  Once this new paradigm is accepted, there are serious cost savings in the avoidance of paper as the communications medium; for example,

·         copying supplies(paper, toner cartridges and other printer supplies)

·         high capacity copier machines

·         labor costs to make and distribute copies

·         labor costs in filing and retrieving paper records

·         storage space, filing cabinets, floor space required to maintain paper copies (not just in records but in all the duplicate file cabinets maintained by detectives, the Chief’s office, etc.)

·         the cost of lost, improperly filed, or damaged paper reports

·         the cost of printing forms
 

Less time in data transformation.  In a paper-based system, the field officer captures the required data on a paper form.  It is at this point that the most knowledge about the event exists, and it is the officer filling out the form who has the best opportunity to initiate the capture of reliable and accurate information.  Yet with the paper-based form, police agencies typically expect records clerks to resolve ambiguities and correct errors in UCR classification or otherwise repair the work of the field officer.  Further, the records clerk re-captures the data a second time by keying in the critical information into a records system. Not only is this process redundant, but it also has the potential to introduce errors by simple transposition or other variations from the original.  This process costs time and thus money.
 
In a records system where the records clerks are entering the full incident report (as opposed to simply enough data to meet the old UCR standards and to do a few batch reports), a typical data entry measure would be 20 minutes per report.  Multiplied by the number of reports entered per year, and computing the five-year savings if this function is eliminated by having the data more accurately and completely entered in the field, the resulting savings are substantial. As an example, an agency processing 10,000 incidents per year would expect data entry to cost $225,000 over a five year period (10,000 x .3 hours per report x $15 per hour x 5 years). 

To be conservative in this calculation , it must be recognized that some amount of quality assurance must still happen even with the best of software that does full editing and data validation in the field, so that the full savings may not accrue.  However, quality assurance reviews should take no more than 15% of the time it would have taken to actually reenter the data, so we could multiply the above calculated savings by .85.   The potential savings is then $191,250 over a five-year period.  Combine this figure with accidents, citations, field contacts, arrests and other reports, and the savings start to mount.  In many instances, this single benefit of mobile computing will justify the investment.

Reduced cost for required changes in reporting.  When state or federal  changes to reporting requirements are mandated, such as with the introduction of the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS), mobile computing software will be less costly to change than all the manual forms and processes that are in place.  Adding a few data elements (such as the arson reporting changes) is much easier in a well-designed computer program than the cost of remaking all forms.  The traditional form approach involves labor intensive work in re-designing the form, printing, implementation, and retraining.  Often the computer equivalent can support a change without this extensive labor cost.

Elimination of transcription errors.  Good quality mobile computing software will include edit rules to validate data as it is captured at the point of origin.  Using lists of options, check boxes, and built-in edit rules will reduce the opportunity for error and improve the quality of the ultimate record.

Lower training costs.  Experiments in the use of mobile computing in police agencies quickly reveal that it is very easy for officers to adapt to the computer-based approach of capturing data.  A well designed, Windows-based software program for incident capture will include on-line help features, built-in edits to instantly detect errors in entry that can be immediately corrected, validation of entries in multiple fields, and other feedback mechanisms to shorten the time it takes to train officers to use this medium.  Particularly for pen-based mobile computing, the metaphor of the clipboard is maintained in the data entry process, and the computer screen appears to the officer to be very similar to the manual form.

Less elapsed time for investigative response. Several studies have established  that the probability of closing a case by arrest decays as time passes.  The mobile computing entry of full case data enables the near real-time transmission of the case data to the investigator who is assigned, and minimizes any delay of the follow-up investigation.

Improved data integrity.  It is intuitively obvious that data captured in the field at the source will be of higher quality than data entered from manual forms after the fact.  The quality of the data improves directly in proportion to the quality of the edits built into the software on the mobile computer; extensive conditional edits and validation rules requiring correction before uploading data lead to a significantly lower error rate and greater database integrity.

Improved officer safety.  A fundamental objective for mobile computing is to provide the officer with a means of determining if persons are wanted or are otherwise a danger to the officer.  High-speed access to local, state, and federal databases provides this capability from the field.  Hardware and software used in mobile computing can also provide a function key or other means for the officer to initiate an alarm indicating that the officer needs help without the knowledge of the person endangering the officer. 

When the mobile computer is connected via a radio network and an automatic vehicle location (AVL) receiver is added to the vehicle installation, the system can transmit the location of a vehicle to an accuracy of up to 10 meters with differential AVL capabilities.  An officer needing help can be located by the dispatcher even without a verbal message defining the officer’s location.

Better resource utilization.  Where an AVL system is employed to inform the CAD system of the exact location of the vehicle, the CAD system is able to select the closest available unit to respond to a call based on the actual location of all units rather than relying on a table look-up to determine which beat or sector should handle a particular call. This approach certainly provides for a reduced average response time and therefore a more productive response force leading to the handling of more calls per unit than is otherwise possible.  The deployment of AVL added to a mobile computing solution raises interesting questions about the whole concept of beats as a means of pre-positioning units to respond to calls for service. Some cities have estimated that the implementation of this concept could result in the equivalent of a 10% gain in the effective patrol force.
 

Higher report quality.  It is easier to capture and include data in a report that is produced on a computer than one that is written by hand, assuming that the software is well designed.  In a Windows environment, for example, officers can use a pen or other pointing device to check off boxes, get help on fields, and spell check narrative entry.  With point of origin editing and validation, the final output of the reporting process will improve over manual means.  The report generated on a computer can also be printed on a high quality laser printer, adhering to state or other standards for formatting.

Closely associated with the improved report quality is the proficiency of the officers in using the system.  In reporting on the study conducted in Los Angeles on the value of mobile computing, the National Institute of Justice found that “the more reports an officer wrote with the computer, the faster he or she could produce them.” As the proficiency increases, so will the quality of reports created in the field.

Improved organizational communications.  Mobile computers connected through a radio network create the potential for the use of  electronic mail between cars in the field and to any e-mail recipient in the department. With e-mail systems, many of the routine organizational communications that previously required meetings are no longer necessary, freeing people to do more productive work and minimizing the time spent in verbal communications or in writing memos.  The result of all of this is movement of information throughout the organization at a much faster pace with greater accuracy and integrity.
 

Support for community-based policing.  Computer support for personnel in the field opens many new doors to support for field activities embraced by the community-based policing model.  With the mobile computer, it is possible to put in the hands of the officer on the scene support tools such as standard operating procedures, penal codes, lists of community contacts and business contacts, and lists and phone numbers of support services that can be applied in proactive policing intervention strategies.  In addition, many agencies have found ways to increase the number of officers involved in community-based policing activities by applying the labor saved through using the mobile computer directly to increased community-based policing activities.  This analysis has been the basis of grants given to agencies under the COPS MORE program.

Increased officer confidence.  There is no doubt that having a store of information available to help make decisions will increase the confidence of the decision-maker. The concept of a field knowledge base with information needed by an officer readily available on the officer’s notebook means that the officer truly is armed with information that may mean the difference between deferring the resolution of a problem and solving the problem at the scene.

Enhanced  professional image.  The use of advanced technology, particularly specialized hardware and software suited to the police environment, such as pen-based solutions, indicates to the community that the officer is well equipped to be of assistance.  This same image indicates to the suspect that the officer has the tools to find out whatever is important about the individual at hand.  These impressions will create increased community confidence in the patrol force.