We all know what it’s like to look for a file in our computer and get lost in a sea of unorganized, poorly named folders. It’s not any different with law enforcement agencies, except their files are of extreme importance and lives possibly depend on it, unlike that old picture of your dog you were trying to find. Having a good Evidence Management Software can solve that problem and save departments precious time and resources.
Many law enforcement agencies don’t see the benefits because, well, most police officers aren’t tech-savvy and they are comfortable with the old school drag and drop method. Little do they know such method is outdated and extremely limited. Dragging and dropping doesn’t allow officers to tag, classify, encrypt, protect, manage, and edit files. They can only name that file and hope they remember exactly what they saved it as when they are looking for it 3 months from now.
Having an evidence management software can save a lot of time and resources for medium-sized and large departments. Not to mention the more robust evidence management softwares also allow playback of video and audio files, GPS stamped coordinates (when using a police body camera or in-car camera with such capability) and video redaction.
Bottom line is, when purchasing law enforcement grade body cameras, do some research on evidence management software and go with the companies that offer a complete solution (body camera + software) because those are the ones that understand their clients’ needs and actually care about solving their problems, instead of just making money.