How The Law Enforcement Agencies CanUse Rugged Tablets to Improve Productivityand Officer Safety

According to Panasonic’s market research, 98% of law enforcement officers believe that better technology adoption can increase officer safety and improve their reporting quality.

The right technology can improve the work culture in law enforcement agencies by enhancing productivity and reducing safety concerns. Rugged tablets can come in handy to adopt the technical advancements in practical use-cases.

What Features Do Public Safety Officers Need in Their Tablets?

Some features are indispensable to get the most out of a tablet. To ensure officer safety and enhance productivity, the following features are must-haves in tablets.

Tablets outfitted with rugged cases should be tested for durability. They should be able to survive altitude changes, rain, temperature change, submersion in water, and frequent exposure to various extreme conditions
Larger screen sizes and higher display quality are essential to offer better access to apps for computer-aided dispatch (CAD)
A significant battery capacity is required for an all-day performance to stay on the go
Officers run performance-intensive applications, so processing speed and memory configuration should be appropriate
A good camera system that supports better low-light performance for documentation and monitoring
PTT (push-to-talk) is crucial for public safety operations as it allows mission-critical voice communications
Convenient biometrics are needed to enhance data security

As most of these features are inherent to rugged tablets, the Zebra line-up of rugged tablets is the best choice for law enforcement agencies.

How Do Rugged Tablets Help Law Enforcement Agencies?

E-ticketing

Tablets can help issue digital ticketing for all kinds of violations that officers find during patrolling. With good battery life and display size, tablets can immediately help generate reports and safeguard sensitive data. The touchscreen functionality paves the way for smoother operations with reliable computing performance.

Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR)

The license plates can help law enforcement agencies find all the associated details about the vehicle. They can use this information to identify if the vehicle is stolen or has been used in any crime. With high-quality camera integration in the rugged tablets, automatic license plate recognition is easily possible. There is an integrated camera-database technology in which officers can trace any car’s license plate with the help of a picture. This can immediately notify the officers if any vehicle around them is suspicious.

Threat Investigation from a Safe Distance

With the help of high-quality cameras, officers can stay at a safe distance from any threat and investigate the action scene. Rugged tablets offer great versatility, allowing officers to be constantly in touch with their reporting station in an emergency. With the help of AI, analytics, and biometrics, officers can take more measures to ensure their safety. They can also keep their findings secure with biometrics during investigations. This safety does not even come at a considerable cost – in fact, the Brenham Police Department saved 30% after switching to rugged tablets.

Photo Evidence and Cataloguing with Field Interviews

Rugged tablets offer an added advantage to officers during information collection on the scene. From photo evidence to field interviews of eyewitnesses, they can easily collect all data on the tablets. Moreover, this data can be completely secure with real-time backup on the cloud. The process of data collection also becomes error-free, as officers can directly process, store, and submit everything from one device. Rugged tablets further ensure public safety by allowing emergency response from officers.

Paperless Documentation

Law enforcement officers can use their tablets to electronically draft, sign, and send documents. This can usher in a paperless digital revolution, and also allow quick lookups for search warrants, legal documents, and emails. Officers can put a rugged tablet to numerous administrative and investigative uses, speeding up the processes and eliminating errors.

Vehicle-mounted rugged tablets save time in various operations. Rugged tablets allow the installation of various applications for different purposes. These applications can enhance productivity by streamlining several operations and offering real-time online access to various databases.

Real-Time Updates on Traffic and Routing

Every police vehicle already comes with GPS for easy tracking and routing. However, the rugged tablets have advanced GPS technology for location stamping and getting real-time updates on traffic and routing. With the help of GPS tracking, officers can check each other’s location, easily reaching out in times of emergencies. GPS capabilities also help the officers to report the exact location of any event. In the bigger picture, GPS can help officers map the areas where crime rates and accidents are higher.

Streamlined Reporting

81% of the police officers say that increasing paperwork negatively impacts their police work, causing burnout. 94% stay worried about report inaccuracies and timely submissions. By including rugged tablets as equipment needed for fair policing, law enforcement agencies can also streamline the reporting process. Officers can have better access to their reporting devices, even when they are patrolling. The voice recognition reporting feature makes documentation and recording further easier.

What Does the Future Hold?

Rugged tablets are a worthwhile initial investment as they offer great benefits to law enforcement agencies. As more agencies continue to realise this, the future of law enforcement certainly relies on technical integrations with rugged tablets. While consumer-grade devices may also serve similar use-cases, they will be unable to withstand the demanding work environment of law enforcement agencies.

The law enforcement officers need devices that can withstand extreme humidity, altitudes, vibration, temperature, and resist damage due to accidental drops. The rugged devices are designed for that and can also resist wind, water, sand, dust, and other fluids. The lower repair or replacement cost is an added benefit for the law enforcement agencies while implementing significant use-cases of rugged tablets.

Do check out the remarkable line-up of Zebra rugged tablets to explore resilient performance and unrivalled support, upgraded to bring the future to now.