Top 10
The size of the agency doesn’t matter. Big or small, these are the most common issues we consistently see in law enforcement records management operations.
What do you think?
#1 Failing at Culture
#2 Keeping Everything
#3 No Retention Schedules
#4 No Training
#5 Failing to Change
If you’re proud of your Lektriever machine- well….it’s 2021. Unless it’s an archive record from a long time ago, paper is a thing of the past. It’s time to move forward. Today’s information should be managed digitally from creation to disposition. Holding your job hostage by insisting on doing business your way only makes it harder (and hurts the agency and the citizens we serve).
#6 Information Proliferation
#7 Data Entry
If you’re entering someone else’s record, you’re creating it twice- doubling the record and the work required to make it. We cringe when we hear agencies say…“We would rather pay a clerk $20/hour than an officer $35/hour to enter reports”. So $55 for the same information is better?
#8 Not Letting Records Do Their Job
“No civilian is going to make corrections to my report”. Actually, that’s their job (in part)- to ensure the department is producing information which is accurate, error-free and well-written. This is a big myth that we debunk in our training seminars. We’ve heard too many bosses say “if the report looks bad, it’s a reflection of the officer- let them look bad in court.” It’s a reflection of the agency and the person at the top. Culture is everything. See #1.
#9 No CAD/RMS/MFR
In 2021, we all should have technology infrastructure in place that enables sound information management and good business processes. It’s what helps prevent #1 through #7 above. While budgets are tight, some vendors have stepped up to the plate and developed cost efficient business models and tech platforms. There are solutions for every need and for every budget.
#10 Paper, Paper, Paper
How Do You Fix This?
After an in-depth assessment of the current operations, we’ll obtain input from top to bottom to garner insight into the agency’s goals, objectives, points of friction and barriers to success (as an “outsider” we have the upper-hand in overcoming them). Then, we move to action and get the agency into compliance and operating smoothly with better workflows, process, technology and performance. See how…
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