As police departments and emergency call centers struggle to recruit and retain staff, government technology suppliers are stepping up to help, developing tools that can ease the burden on employees from a business perspective.
Ongoing labor shortages are a major part of supplier sales pitches for 2024. Every public safety product launch seems to be described as making it easier for emergency response agencies to do more rather than less.
That may well be true.
But while this trend is still in its infancy, two other storylines are emerging. First, given the pace of research and development, today's workforce shortages will guide product deployment years from now. Second, there are limits to how much technology can advance when it comes to helping agencies fill vacant jobs.
The staffing shortage has disrupted all kinds of discussions between technology suppliers and their existing and prospective customers, as well as spurring government tech deals.
This includes Versaterm's recent acquisition of Mindbase, whose health and wellness platform could help first responders avoid burnout that comes with the stress of working too many shifts, for example.
For Motorola, helping reduce stress means selling software that helps 911 operators identify when they need to take a short break. Todd Piette, Corporate Vice President, Command Center Technology, Motorola Solutions, said: Government Technology.
Technology can also help speed up the recruiting and onboarding process, which can be time-consuming and an additional deterrent for talented, motivated candidates. Having access to modern tools also appeals to younger police and call-taker candidates who have grown up on digital and mobile platforms and expect to work with the latest technology.
“I think technology has a role to play in each area,” Piette said.
Public safety technology suppliers like Motorola operate in sectors that have had to recover from tensions and negative publicity from the pandemic and racial tensions, including the 2020 killing of George Floyd. And even if that is not enough, a relatively low level of publicity is required. Police department salaries don't do much to fill vacant police officer or call answering positions.
In fact, the number of law enforcement resignations jumped by about 40 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the Police Executive Research Forum.
The group said new data released in April was “encouraging,” and that agencies “will employ more sworn officers in 2023 than in any of the past four years.” Resignations and turnover are also down. Still, staffing levels at larger police agencies are still 5% below 2020, and they tend to have more severe staffing issues than smaller police agencies.
Even though pay raises, signing-on bonuses and other incentives have helped police departments fill their ranks, emergency dispatch centers are having a tough time attracting their own candidates. A report from NENA and dispatch software supplier Carbine found that 82% of call centers are understaffed and are experiencing a “growing shortage” of younger workers to fill the front lines and replace those who retire or leave due to burnout.
One technological solution to this problem is the ongoing push to connect emergency command centers to provide a coordinated response, along with real-time data and other services, making call handlers' jobs less stressful and more automated and efficient.
For example, CentralSquare Technologies recently announced that five agencies in Oklahoma will soon be connected through the company's next-generation 911 software. Together these institutions serve over 100,000 people.
The technology deployed in the state “helps automate certain processes and save call takers time — specifically, responding to misdialed calls with automated text messages and using pre-recorded greetings to classify and route calls with automatic call distribution (ACD) capabilities,” said Kevin Wattenburger, sales director for 911 call handling at Central Square Technologies. Government Technology on mail.
But so far, there's little evidence to show which emerging technologies are most effective at alleviating staffing shortages in emergency call centers, said April Heinze, NENA's director of 911 operations.
“AI has provided some relief,” she said. government technology.
But it's too early to draw firm judgements about the benefits of all the new technology, she said. Heinz and others at the organization say recent data shows a slight increase in call center employment.
On the police side, it is difficult to articulate a single way of thinking about how new public safety technologies and AI will impact workforce issues. Department sizes, budgets, and pace of work vary widely.
But a fairly common view comes from the La Crosse, Wisconsin, police department, which has about 90 officers patrolling the college town of more than 51,000 people. He has 10 positions in this department that he would like to fill, Sergeant. Brooke Pataska said government technologythey use the software for tasks such as helping to write reports more quickly, resulting in more officers on the streets.
“Technology has made things really quick and delivery times faster,” she said.
This includes the arrest process, which is usually a time-consuming part of daily operations, but is being sped up by software.
But like others interviewed for this article, Patasca was skeptical that even the best technology and cleverest AI models can fully solve the problems associated with a shrinking workforce.
Heinz says: “You can leverage AI to a certain extent, but I don’t think it will reduce the need for human interaction.”
As it stands, artificial intelligence lacks the deep level of human empathy that a non-robotic call taker or police officer would ideally possess.
As technology becomes more widespread, a major concern is whether AI can truly achieve empathy. A recent example of this is RapidSOS. The company just released an AI tool for officers and dispatchers that includes a large-scale language model based on public safety training.
“AI can't do all these jobs,” RapidSOS CEO Michael Martin said. government technology“You'll never get the honesty and empathetic humanity of a 911 call handler.”
That's important because good call takers and police officers have intuition that can be extremely useful in an emergency.
So what if technology has its limits in alleviating the pain of talent shortages?
One answer has to do with faith — specifically, the hope that young adults will find meaning in public safety work, even if the pay is relatively low.
“Gen Z is joining the workforce and seeking purpose-driven employment,” said Chris Nassman, vice president of strategy, impact and communications at NENA. Government Technology.
His group also works to increase pay for these workers while promoting the use of wellness software to prevent burnout, which he said typically starts around the third year of employment at a dispatch center.
Another way to address staffing issues is to be smarter about how technology is deployed, said Rob Wheeler, director of growth, operations and customer advocacy at Peregrine, a company that sells data integration and health monitoring software to police departments.
“Most new officers start on patrol, so if a police department can demonstrate that it is investing in technology to keep patrol officers safe, it will greatly increase recruitment while also providing effective mentoring opportunities.” “I think it will be helpful,” he said. Government Technology on mail.
Whatever happens over the next year or so, whether that be general hiring growth, major leaps in AI capabilities, or even further declines in reported crime, today's staffing shortages will likely be reflected in public safety technology of the near future.
“The ongoing staffing shortage significantly impacts our long-term research and development outlook,” said Deborah Seingarten, vice president of marketing at Carbine. government technology “As long as staffing remains a significant pain point for our customers, it will remain a focus of our product roadmap.”
