Strong internal communication means better productivity for organizations. According to McKinsey, when organizations use the right technologies, it can raise the productivity of workers up to 25%. For law enforcement, strong internal communication means better officer safety, quicker emergency responses and a higher likelihood of positive outcomes. But for police departments, figuring out how to create optimized internal police communications in a way that keeps the department connected can be especially difficult because employees may be spread out across areas or work varied shifts on a 24/7 schedule. By using technology that understands police communication needs, however, figuring out how keep everyone connected and communicating can be easy. Here are some examples of what that looks like in action and what the benefits are.

Benefit 1: Quicker Response Time When a Crime is Reported

A police department is informed that a local child is missing. They also are made aware of a potential suspect that may have taken the child. The department uses secure technology quickly sends out a picture of the child, along with a description of the suspect and potential whereabouts to all officers’ phones and tablets. A police officer in the field spots a man walking down the street with the child in the picture and quickly apprehends them. The child is returned to safety.

In a situation where the officers didn’t have the right technology, sharing a photo of the minor without placing sensitive information at risk would be difficult and maybe even bulky to do – like sharing physical copies. But in this situation the technology used protects all information regarding the child and the information is sent in a way that the suspect couldn’t intercept it – something they couldn’t do with other forms of communication – like radio transmission. The communication keeps everyone safe and makes it as easy as possible for the officers to look for the right person.

Benefit 2: Easier Coordination During an Emergency

It’s hurricane season and the town has been hit with a particularly nasty storm, so policemen are out in the field helping with clean up, making sure community members are safe and delivering supplies. But a tree has fallen in one of the areas, making it dangerous for people to go there – only several officers are already on their way. The department quickly sends a blast notification to officers’ phones and tablets letting them know of the danger and informing them of safety protocol. They’re able to confirm that their officers received it without having to follow up. Prior to installing the technology they’re now using, they would have had to manually follow up with each officer to make sure they were aware of the situation.

Benefit 3: Officer’s Workloads Become Easier

Many departments have to rely on paper to share communications, which can mean sending runners back and forth and manually tracking where sensitive communications are going. At the same time, officers can be reluctant to embrace new technologies that get rid of these problems because the technology is hard to use.

Technology that understands police communications is simple and intuitive for officers to use. It looks and feels like other common communication tools – such as SMS, WhatsApp and Zoom – but it protects any data shared at all times and makes sure to meet department compliance needs. That technology is Vaporstream.

Vaporstream’s focus is making sure police departments can experience all the benefits of coordinated internal police communications without any struggle. We make it simple to send messages, share images, make calls and send out information blasts – and even escalate messages – without having to worry about any information being exposed or not complying with requirements. Find out more how we can benefit your department here.

Blog: Addressing Operational Headaches in Law Enforcement

Podcast: Private Chatting…Oxymoron or Not with Security Expert Paul Viollis

Blog: Keeping it Simple with Devices and Law Enforcement