Why Can’t Law Enforcement Agencies Talk to Each Other?

Rising violent crime rates and wide-scale crises and disasters have exposed glaring communication disparities that undermine collaboration among first responders.

There are few more important nationwide challenges to law enforcement; but unfortunately, the traditional tools officers have to work with often result in bottlenecks and communication breakdowns.

In many cases, officers are even utilizing non-compliant consumer messaging apps and platforms that present a significant risk.

Roughly nine in 10 first responders surveyed in a recent Verizon study reported the ability to communicate across agencies was “a critical concern” in their current line of work. Some 93 percent stated that communicating across agencies is critical in managing crises.

Collaboration in law enforcement can happen on multiple levels.

The goals are the same, yet methods and expertise are distinct. That’s why interagency collaboration proves to be so effective. The focus should be on effective communication and the implementation of tools and processes that make real-time updates and advanced discussions possible.

Interagency Cooperation vs. Collaboration in Law Enforcement

There are still misconceptions about how interagency cooperation and interagency collaboration work. Collaboration in law enforcement is often organized, while interagency cooperation takes a reactive approach.

There are also instances where leadership will initiate these conversations between agencies.

Unfortunately, the concept of interagency cooperation only takes things so far.

The process can help first responders work faster and more efficiently when handled correctly. These attempts can often feel forced or formal, but true interagency collaboration in law enforcement is about building productive relationships, communications channels, systems and protocols to get the work done right.

Intelligence Sharing

Communicating within an agency is difficult enough. doing so with neighboring agencies can be even more challenging, especially during a community crisis.

The aforementioned study found that 72 percent of first responders use mobile devices in their everyday operations, highlighting how important it is to have compatible technologies available and their impact on the management of crises and reaching the appropriate parties.

A capable communications solution for interagency collaboration can help ensure that crucial information is shared quickly and seamlessly. This is true whether uniting multiple law enforcement agencies in a region, connecting with emergency medical services fire departments, or even reaching out to local elected officials.

The Key is Public Trust

Communities are stronger when their public safety organizations work together. Police transparency— whether internal or public-facing—begins with communication clarity.

Rapid intelligence sharing between organizations leads to faster crime solving and crime reduction, ultimately allowing for public approval to naturally follow.

Departments become more efficient when they have instant communications channels to enable interagency collaboration.

Streamlined operations can help manage crises and resolve dangerous and escalating situations faster, protecting more citizens and even saving them money, building that all-important public trust.

Emergency Preparedness

Today, communicating in real-time can seem mundane with the many ways we can interact with smartphones, laptops, tablets, and various applications and software.

Unfortunately, many in the public sector still utilize traditional communication methods like email, which hinders the chances to collaborate instantly and effectively in a time of need.

Emergencies and other catastrophic events highlight the need for split-second decision-making. In many instances, communications among those responding to natural disasters, terrorist attacks or mass shootings have lacked interoperability.

For example, on Aug. 3, 2019, a gunman shot and killed 22 people and left at least two dozen more injured at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. In addition to first responders who arrived six minutes after receiving the 9-1-1 call, 12 to 15 different agencies responded to the attack.

Each responding agency had vital information regarding the shooting that needed to be communicated immediately and across all emergency response teams on the scene, including the El Paso Police Department leading the case.

However, the lack of an interagency communication platform made this impossible. Due to this critical missing component, respondents resorted to sharing information on unsecure, third-party services. Once the scene was secure and the investigation began, the U.S. Attorney General was forced to issue subpoenas to collect the data, complicating and delaying the investigation for several months.

First responders and all critical interagency employees who respond to crime scenes need the ability to instantly share intelligence over a federal and state-compliant platform.

Organized Resources

Interagency collaboration can play a role in keeping police departments organized and managed, two aspects that are vital in their efficiency.  One way of utilizing this is within resources and training, ensuring compatibility between agencies.

For example, courses for active shooter or hostage situations can be completed through interagency collaboration in law enforcement, ultimately allowing agencies throughout a greater metro region to have the same knowledge base.

Moreover, police officers, firefighters, and other first responders can learn and act from the same training source. Some departments even decide to coordinate their training schedules to help build relationships and camaraderie among neighboring officers.

Organizing resources with interagency collaboration and communication tools puts the right people in the right places. Agencies don’t need an excess of personnel reporting on the scene. Instead, the requests should be specific and reviewed simultaneously across departments.

While there is no doubt that interagency collaboration is incredibly important in first responder communication efforts, it’s no easy task to gain trust internally and externally, organize intelligence sharing and resources, and act in an emergency.

Jeff Halstead

Departments must stay up to date on the latest compliant solutions that meet the needs of their efforts and soften the blow of their communication pain points.

 Jeff Halstead, founder & President of Evertel, retired as chief of police in Fort Worth, TX in 2015. Previously, he was a commander at the Phoenix Police Department Evertel, a secure and compliant mobile communication platform for first responders and government entities, aims to solve the communication disparities encountered by first responders. Evertel’s Twitter address is: https://twitter.com/evertelhq. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evertelhq/ . Jeff can also be reached via LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-halstead-33920124