With the advent of new technology, law enforcement seems to be at a bit of a crossroads. Some traditional practices of policing are being disrupted. New tools and new tech are forcing most departments to change the way they police, with chiefs and command staff leading the charge. Changing the culture within your department can be the key to improved officer effectiveness and community satisfaction. So, how does one go about making such a change? We asked our law enforcement partner Deputy Chief Armendariz from Modesto (California) PD how he transformed his department from presiding over one of the highest crime rates in the country to become one of the most effective agencies, and how PredPol played an integral part in creating that change. 

3 Ways PredPol Can Help Drive Culture Change:

1- Same page. Chief Armendariz says that using PredPol at his department is a sure-fire way to make sure everyone is on the same page. Whether he's got a new hire who has only been on the job a few weeks or an officer who has been at the department for 10 years, they both have access to the same mission and patrol information through PredPol's application. This ensures that each officer on each shift understands what the objective is and where they can access the information necessary to be as prepared as possible before going out on patrol. 

2- You can't manage what you're not measuring. As a new chief you're expected to produce results fast. Chief Armendariz found that PredPol's GPS feature and analytics dashboard made this more manageable. He was able to clearly see if his officers were doing what they needed to do in order to drive down crime, and he was able to easily share his results with the city and the community. It's important for a chief and other command staff to have insight into what their officers are doing while out on patrol in order to make necessary adjustments. Transparency is extremely important when it comes to creating a culture change in a department and achieving positive results.

3- Don't just be efficient, be effective. Efficiency is about getting the most out of your resources; effectiveness is all about getting those resources to achieve your goals. Officers must be effective in order to see crime reduction results like Chief Armendariz has seen in Modesto. PredPol has helped him change the culture of his department to be a proactive one rather than reactive. In order to be successful at reducing crime you have to get out in front of it. Chief Armendariz tells his officers that being effective is more about what you do when you get in the box. Officers have even stopped crime in PredPol boxes as it was happening! Modesto PD has also found other creative ways of deterring crime, including parking a police-issued vehicle in a PredPol box as well as deploying community service leaders to PredPol boxes.

Below are some of Modesto PD's crime stats for the past 5 years using PredPol. You can see that Chief Armendariz's proactive approach to policing has produced AMAZING crime reduction results over the years!

Make departmental culture change more manageable and get the results you're looking for with PredPol.