Reaching peak efficiency with digital evidence management
The New Brighton Department of Public Safety has always taken a technology-forward approach in their public safety initiatives. Learn how the latest investments have helped them simplify evidence management, all while boosting process efficiency and agency collaboration.
The company
The New Brighton Department of Public Safety is a suburb bordering the Twin Cities of Minneapolis–Saint Paul in Minnesota, United States. Being so close to the two largest cities in Minnesota, New Brighton offers its 24,000 residents a blended urban-suburban feel. The century-old city is also a nature lovers’ hub with over 13 parks, an executive golf course, and the beautiful Rice Creek at its northern border. To protect this family-friendly suburb, the New Brighton Department of Public Safety (DPS) works diligently to keep its city and residents safe.
The challenge
Over time, digital evidence storage requirements were growing, and data sharing was complicated and time-consuming. In addition to RMS data and mobile video evidence, investigators collected mobile phone footage, doorbell video, audio recordings, and more. Records staff also received about 1,000 digital media requests per year. To respond to these requests, they spent hours transferring media to DVDs. Handling investigations and managing data storage and dissemination was using a lot of their resources.
The solution
Simple evidence collection
Investigators can share a QR code or email a request link to evidence holders. Recipients can then easily and securely share video from their doorbell cameras, video systems, or mobile phones.
Smoother investigations
Finding evidence is as simple as entering the case number in Genetec Clearance™. Officers can also use a map view or input search parameters such as date, time, types of files, GPS coordinates, and much more.
Faster data dissemination
Using Clearance, New Brighton DPS created user groups for both county and city attorneys with specific user permissions. Now, they can handle their own disclosures and share evidence with public defenders.
Secure evidence management
“Our data security and privacy are strong with Genetec Clearance. All of our data is stored in the cloud and protected by built-in cybersecurity features,” said Hamdorf.
“The time savings we’ve experienced have been significant. All our processes, from evidence collection and sharing to data retention and deletion, have been streamlined.”
Trevor Hamdorf, Deputy Director of Public Safety at New Brighton Department of Public Safety
Results
Since implementing Clearance, CentralSquare RMS, and i-PRO body-worn and in-car video systems, the New Brighton DPS has seen huge efficiency gains. This innovative public safety portfolio has heightened automation across tasks and processes, saving countless hours for everyone, from dispatch operators and police officers to records staff.
With the new systems, when a 911 call comes into the dispatch center, the operator creates an incident number and determines the caller’s location. As soon as they assign the call to New Brighton DPS, a case number is created in the RMS, which then automatically creates a case in Clearance. As officers respond to the scene, their body cameras turn on. They capture witness statements on their body cams while in-car cameras capture more of the scene and anything else that’s happening. All cameras upload directly to Clearance, where that evidence is easily associated with the case file.