Helping detectives collaborate so they can close cases faster
Naperville is a bustling city, just west of Chicago in the United States. Today, the Naperville Police Department uses Genetec Clearance to better manage video evidence and recordings. They’ve also launched a camera registry program to streamline evidence collection across the city.
The company
Naperville is situated about 28 miles west of Chicago in the United States. Just under 150,000 people call Naperville home, making it the fourth largest city in Illinois. With highly rated public schools, a pleasant suburban feel, and an extensive parks and forest network, the city has become known as a great place to raise a family in America. Living in a community with a good sense of safety and well-being is also part of the appeal. That’s why the Naperville Police Department (PD) works around the clock to always keep residents, visitors, and businesses protected.
The challenge
Like many police departments, the Naperville PD had been using an old, legacy video recording system in their interrogation rooms. Before and after interviews, an officer would have to manually start and stop the video recording. Multiple copies would then be saved on disks and submitted to the Evidence and Property Section for long-term storage. When a case involved many different interviews, investigators spent a lot of time manually managing that digital evidence. With plans to upgrade six interrogation rooms, they needed a modern, efficient, and secure way to manage their digital evidence.
The solution
Efficient investigations
Since implementing Clearance, investigators have been working more efficiently on casework. Not only can detectives collaborate with ease, but they can locate and access the files at any time.
Secure file access
Specific user permissions are assigned to officers who are actively involved in the case. And all user interactions within Clearance are automatically tracked, ensuring the proper chain of custody.
Easy evidence collection
When Naperville PD detectives are out in the field, they can use the Clearance mobile app on their phone. They simply record the interview and then upload it to the case file when they’re done.
Community collaboration
Naperville PD has officially launched a Community Camera Registration Program. Using Clearance, they can email camera owners to request video. Owners can then securely upload video via a web portal.
“We have found that the retrieval and sharing of evidence are very easy within Clearance. When we search using the case number, we’ll immediately see all the interview recordings that are available to review.”
Jason Zbrozek, Deputy Chief of the Investigations Division, Naperville Police Department
Results
Today, the Investigations Division at Naperville PD are using Genetec Security Center to manage video from all their interrogation rooms. When an interview is about to start, the investigator flips a switch within the interrogation room and the video recording begins automatically. Upon completion, the video is exported into a Genetec Clearance case file, in a few clicks.
“Clearance has given our detectives more time to work on other important investigative tasks. If we have a few detectives working on a case and they’ve conducted many different interviews, as soon as we upload them into Clearance, everyone has access to the evidence. Since Clearance is very user-friendly, our detectives and officers save time and energy, so our investigations run more efficiently,” added Commander Egan.