How to Maximize Agency Resources with Federal Funding

In a recent PERF survey, 48% of police agencies reported budget and staffing shortages. Resource constraints have forced many agencies to make tough decisions on where and how to deploy resources. And, the timing of these resource challenges couldn’t be worse.

Over the last year, cities have faced multiple pandemics. In addition to Covid-19 and the devastating impact it has had on the economy, we have seen a significant increase in gun violence, social unrest, and the resulting renewed focus on police reform and racial justice.

Federal Funding is Available

To address the recent uptick in crime, the White House is providing $2.1 billion, including $401 million in state and local grants as part of the American Rescue Plan Act $350 billion stimulus. This federal funding has been allocated for law enforcement across states, cities and counties — with 57 percent going to states and 35 percent to local governments.

Precision Policing Tools to Help You Manage the New Normal

Police departments have long faced the challenge of deciding where and when to send limited patrol resources to improve efficiencies while preventing crime. But, tightening budgets, recruitment/retention challenges, and highly engaged communities have created an urgent need for agencies to adopt more sophisticated patrol strategies.

Oftentimes, traditional patrol strategies that are primarily focused on aggregating historical crime events lead to over-saturating or over-policing areas of persistent crime while simultaneously creating gaps of police services across the jurisdiction. Traditional methods for creating patrol plans, that are not data-driven, do not provide insight into where officers can spend their limited time to maximize presence and prevent crime, while engaging the community with care.

Without technology that uses data to automate patrol plans, patrol deployment strategies often result in a “day-in, day-out” routine of conducting patrols in the same areas with no real effect on driving down crime. Similarly, relying on traditional hot spot analysis or “gut-based” patrols that are based on training and experience may leave the community feeling over-policed and discriminated against.

So, the question is, how can agencies create a bigger and better impact with fewer resources and more outside pressure? The answer is by deploying sophisticated police patrol software that drives more meaningful and impactful patrol strategies.

Directed Patrols Prevent Crime & Promote Positive Community Engagement

The ultimate goal of any patrol strategy should be to increase positive engagement between your agency and the community it serves, while reducing crime.

Research shows that high visibility patrols are an effective deterrent to crime. In addition, by providing officers with a framework of suggested non-enforcement tactics and limiting the amount of time they spend in each area, your agency can interact with the community in a positive manner.

ResourceRouter™ is a community-first patrol management solution that uses machine learning to direct officers to high-risk locations to prevent crime before it occurs. Agencies receive a precise locations plan, which is a superior way of managing patrols compared to relying on traditional hot spot analysis. Watch the video below to see how it works.

Smaller budgets, recruitment challenges and highly engaged communities have heightened the priority of adopting police patrol software to support sophisticated and meaningful patrol strategies.

That is why an investment in ResourceRouter is an allowable use of American Rescue Plan Act funding to help agencies of all sizes navigate the multitude of challenges in today’s policing climate.

How to Access the Funds

SoundThinking™ can help you navigate the critical steps necessary with your local administration and elected officials to secure federal funding as you continue to protect your community.

• SoundThinking’s funding experts can research your city’s allocations and keep you up to date on U.S. Department of Treasury disbursement of funds.
• We can be your best advocate by preparing your application, compiling data to support your request, and gaining the support of local government and non-government partners.