Is Technology the Answer to Police Staffing Issues?

Imagine a violent armed robbery occurs near your home. A witness happens to see the vehicle the suspect uses to flee and relays that information to their local 911 dispatcher. The dispatcher quickly enters the getaway vehicle description into their computer. The vehicle drives past a camera that reads the plate and immediately identifies it as the car involved in the robbery.

A nearby police drone, connected to the network, launches autonomously to the location and begins tracking the vehicle. It delivers a real-time video feed to responding officers, providing situational awareness that enhances their safety and the safety of the community. The suspect is found and safely arrested.

This may sound like science fiction, but it’s actually right around the corner. In fact, most of the things in this scenario can and are taking place today. Technology’s critical role in modern law enforcement and public safety will continue to expand as we advance through this decade.

THE STAFFING ISSUE

American law enforcement is in a staffing crisis. To add context and help paint a picture, law enforcement staffing in California is at its lowest level since 1991. This is not just a California problem — it’s a national issue that needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix. The time it takes a law enforcement agency to recruit, train and deploy an officer varies by state, region and city, but it is not out of the ordinary for that process to take well over a year. Exacerbating this problem is that law enforcement personnel are still leaving the profession through retirement or to start other careers at alarming rates. The tipping point occurred in 2020 when officer resignations increased 47 percent from the year before and retirements increased 19 percent. Police and sheriff departments across the nation simply can’t “keep up.” They need to be hiring at a rate that is significantly exceeding the attrition rate, and that simply isn’t happening.

Although no jurisdictions are immune to this staffing crisis, areas with high housing costs are hit even harder. Take California for example. According to the California Association of Realtors, the median price of a single-family home in the state surpassed $900,000 in April of this year. Most financial experts advise spending no more than one-third of income on housing costs. Based on this rule, a $900,000 home would require an annual income of over $190,000 at today’s interest rates. Police officers and sheriff’s deputies simply aren’t paid that much in California, or nearly anywhere else, for that matter. They are leaving these states with out-of-reach housing costs at alarming rates.

These structural staffing deficits are going to take years if not a decade or more to correct. Violent crime rates in many jurisdictions are increasing and the perception of fear among Americans has significantly risen. According to the most recent Gallup poll on “personal safety” conducted in 2023, fear is at a 30-year high. One of the primary responsibilities of government is to protect the well-being and security of its people. Something has to be done; action must be taken. Without a silver bullet to immediately and miraculously “fix” the policing staffing shortages, we must look at other avenues to reduce crime and increase public safety.

TECHNOLOGIES TO ENHANCE CAPABILITIES

One of these avenues is to adopt technologies that act as “force multipliers”: technologies that augment and enhance officers’ crime prevention efforts, and that are economical and can be scaled to the needs of the agencies and communities using them. Two technologies that fit this mold are automated license plate readers (ALPR) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), specifically those used in drones-as-first-responder programs (DFR). These technologies can often be implemented at the cost of less than one full-time benefited police officer.

ALPR systems automatically capture and analyze license plate data from vehicles passing through designated areas. This data is then cross-referenced with law enforcement databases, alerting officers in real time to vehicles reported stolen, potentially associated with other crimes, and associated with missing and/or abducted individuals. This capability not only aids in the rapid apprehension of criminals but also acts as a deterrent, as criminals become aware and may avoid jurisdictions that adopt these systems. The system’s ability to process thousands of license plates daily far exceeds the capacity of human officers, thereby multiplying the department’s reach and effectiveness.

UAVs, and more specifically drones-as-a first-responder programs, are another technology that can significantly enhance a law enforcement agency’s capabilities, especially in times of reduced staffing. In a DFR program, UAVs are dispatched to calls just like law enforcement officers. A distinct advantage DFR provides is enhanced response times. UAVs can typically be at a call in a minute or less in most circumstances. The program can also actually free up officers for higher-priority calls and responsibilities. UAVs are sometimes able to resolve calls before officers arrive, relieving them of the need to respond.

Although the use of UAVs in public safety is not new, DFR programs will become significantly more cost-effective in the near future. In recent years, drone technology has helped revolutionize law enforcement and public safety. We are on the brink of a new era where public safety agencies leveraging ground-based radar will operate drones beyond the visual line of sight and without the need for visual observers. This will fundamentally change how agencies scale DFR programs. This groundbreaking shift will transform how law enforcement responds to emergencies and crimes in progress and will significantly enhance public safety.

COST-EFFECTIVE INNOVATION

Public safety agencies can use their budgets to their fullest while continuing to be good stewards of tax dollars by harnessing technologies that enhance officer productivity and performance, especially in these times of reduced staffing levels. Using ALPR and DFR to help combat crime and improve public safety are innovative and cost-effective approaches to policing that bring substantial benefits to the community.

For the cost of one full-time police officer working 40 hours a week, an agency could start an ALPR program of perhaps 40 to 50 cameras, covering a large geographic area, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Even if the staffing crisis were miraculously solved tomorrow, traditional policing methods, such as increasing patrols or hiring additional officers, require significantly more financial investment compared to these technologies.

Because of the way most police budgets are structured, and because nearly all law enforcement agencies carry vacancies in their personnel costs due to the staffing crisis, most have personnel funding surpluses. Based on the effectiveness of these technologies, a strong argument can be made that communities would be better served by police executives reprogramming some of these unused budgeted funds to purchase and/or enhance technology programs like ALPR and DFR.

Mike Moulton has been chief of the El Cajon, Calif., Police Department for five years and has been with the department for over 29 years. He has served in all divisions of the department, working in Investigations, Special Enforcement, Inspections, Training and Personnel, Patrol, and Internal Affairs. Chief Moulton served on the department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for 15 years. Chief Moulton holds a master’s degree in law enforcement and public safety leadership from the University of San Diego, a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, and is a graduate of California POST’s Command College and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police.