Viewing and auditing those interactions are huge opportunities for departments to provide guidance and training to officers
LOMARD, Ill. (PRWEB) March 25, 2021
As more and more police departments deploy body-worn cameras to strengthen transparency, accountability and public trust, Frontline Public Safety Solutions announced today that it is introducing a cloud-based software package that will dramatically simplify the process of auditing footage of the cameras.
“If police departments aren’t auditing the performance of their officers on a regular basis to identify both positive and negative behaviors during public interactions, then they’re missing out on a major benefit body-worn cameras provide,” said Frontline Public Safety CEO Ben Laird.
The cloud-based software platform, called BWC Audits, is helping police departments make sense of the mountainous data being collected. The software provides a user-friendly and efficient way for supervisors evaluate officer performance based on body-worn and dash camera footage.
The software is smart, customizable, and provides all the analytics a supervisor needs to
properly evaluate the performance of his/her officers. It also has an alert system that will notify the auditor of patterns in officer behavior based on ongoing audits.
"There’s no doubt that body-worn cameras have the potential to enhance transparency, accountability and public trust in law enforcement. However, the technology’s potential cannot be fully realized if the footage isn’t regularly audited with an eye toward improving oversight, guidance, and training for officers,” said Laird. “BWC Audits software provides police departments with an efficient way to accurately track the auditing process. The benefit we provide is that our software can deliver significant time and cost savings to departments.”
The time savings, says Laird, is obvious. The audits performed by supervisors, efficiently track and evaluate their officers’ performance on metrics that, the agencies themselves, choose. The software can also flag deficiencies in performance and automatically send an email to a supervisor so they can identify training opportunities.
The long-term cost savings will be significant, given that agencies implementing body-worn camera auditing systems stand to lower their insurance costs and reduce their liability exposure.
“Frontline’s BWC Audits software is two things, essentially,” said Laird. “It’s a time saver for supervisors who are always being asked to do more oversight with fewer resources, and also a risk management tool. Municipalities seeking to limit their exposure and lower their insurance premiums stand to gain the most by deploying thorough, regular audits of officers. BWC Audits helps them do that. As we launch this software, we’re very confident that as more cameras are deployed by more departments, agencies will see the need for a robust auditing software system.”
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department is the first major law enforcement agency to purchase the software. The 1,400-officer department began body camera deployment last summer as a measure to enhance public accountability. Departments in California, Illinois, and New Jersey are also among the first agencies to deploy the software.
BWC Audits simplifies the process of monitoring the usage of body worn cameras. For example, the software prompts users to determine if the cameras were activated properly, if they remained operational during the entire incident, and if the camera functioned properly.
For departments seeking to use the footage to evaluate officer performance on a broader scale of quality and “customer service” metrics, the software comes with pre-loaded questions that users can incorporate into their audits. Some of those questions include: ‘Was the officer courteous and professional? Was the officer’s observed conduct free from signs of prohibited bias? Was the incident handled properly and in compliance with department policies? Did the officer demonstrate exceptional performance worthy of an award or commendation? Are there actions that provide an opportunity for an officer to receive additional training and guidance?
“Body-worn cameras provide supervisors with an almost eye-witness perspective of an officer’s interactions with the public. Viewing and auditing those interactions are huge opportunities for departments to provide guidance and training to officers. That’s why we view our software as, not just a tool to strengthen auditing, but as a way to bolster the quality of policing in communities across the country,” said Laird.
Laird established Frontline Public Safety Solutions when, during a 13-year career as a police officer in River Forest, IL, he realized that many police departments and communication centers lacked the proper quality assurance technology and wanted to create a solution.
Based in Lombard, Illinois and founded in 2016, Frontline Public Safety Solutions is an emerging leader in software products designed to help public safety agencies track and monitor training. Frontline has also assisted communications centers with their efforts in tracking quality assurance. Currently, more than 400 public safety agencies in 40 states are using Frontline quality assurance products.
For more information about Frontline Public Safety Solutions, please visit http://www.bwcaudits.com.
To learn more about the software products offered by Frontline Public Safety Solutions, contact Ben Laird at 855.794.1576 or blaird@frontlinepss.com. Or, contact Frontline media relations consultant Dave Bayless at 312.533.0059 or baylessdave@gmail.com.
