We’ve all seen the crime shows — CSI, NCIS, Law & Order — that wrap up neatly in 60 minutes with the detectives quickly figuring out whodunit with the help of the latest tech and gadgets. Unfortunately, those often have more to do with a script writer’s imagination than the leading edge of technology.

The future is coming faster, however, thanks in no small part to the Covid-19 pandemic. The experiences of the last year and a half have, for many, redefined how people around the globe think about safety. We learned that our personal behaviors could have far-reaching impacts, extending rapidly throughout communities.

According to a recent report by Motorola Solutions and Goldsmiths, University of London, for example, the pandemic has changed public expectations about the role of public safety technology and those who use it. The study included an extensive global poll, which found that 88% of citizens around the world want to see public safety transformed by advanced technology. At the same time, these changing expectations, coupled with new challenges, have spurred public safety agencies and businesses to accelerate their own paces of innovation.

Whether it’s a U.S. school system using video analytics to maintain compliance with Covid-19 social distancing and masking policies or a Norwegian health services organization using cloud technology to bring virtual control rooms online, crisis has driven adaptation and transformation. Those advances are unlikely to abate, regardless of the pandemic’s course.

Here are five trends to watch in 2022 as technology’s role in public safety continues to evolve:

Using AI To Manage Influx Of Data

Agencies need to be able to manage and sort an ever-rising data influx from sources such as video evidence and 911 call information and produce actionable insights. That’s where artificial intelligence (AI) comes in.

Going forward, AI should continue its rise in public safety by helping alleviate administrative tasks such as writing incident reports and responding to FOIA requests. Instead of officers having to spend hours watching body-worn camera footage, for example, they can search the video with keywords, and the AI will return a set of results for the officer to review. Those hours saved allow officers to connect with the communities they serve and keep them safe. 

Providing Real-Time Video For Increased Situational Awareness 

Officers or paramedics often lack numerous details of what they are walking into when they respond to calls, which can mean having to make decisions with insufficient information. The increasing public safety trend of video from drones, body-worn cameras and in-car camera systems can create a more robust situational awareness, meaning that a first responder has the insight they need to make well-informed decisions, de-escalate a tense situation and save lives. 

Optimizing Tools And Systems For Community Engagement

Smartphones permeate our lives, giving citizens the ability to take images and videos which can be shared with public safety agencies to help solve crimes or give more context to how incidents unfolded. But few public safety answering points are equipped with the infrastructure necessary to securely receive streaming video, recordings and images.

According to the FCC, many states and localities (download required) will be properly upgrading their 911 call centers in the next year. This will help incorporate the everyday citizen in the emergency response workflow, which itself facilitates a more transparent and trusted relationship between communities and their first responders. 

Designing For Users 

User experience is not a topic one might think of when imagining successful public safety technology. But few first responders have the time or attention to search for a button or replace a dying battery while handling an incident. They are often working off muscle memory in a high-stress situation with little time. For example, a 911 dispatcher needs to quickly type out a caller’s information while pinpointing their location and coordinating a response.

Software cannot be cumbersome when every second matters. As technology advances, incorporating design thinking to facilitate a better user experience will be crucial to alleviate mental stress and cognitive load, allowing public safety professionals to do their jobs more easily and efficiently. 

More Complexity Isn’t The Answer

Implementing new technology in public safety can introduce risk given there is no room for error when responding to an emergency situation. When evaluating vendors and the new technology, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. More complexity is not the answer. Adding the latest technology to your toolbox doesn’t necessarily solve the challenges at hand. Look to deploy technologies that simplify your workflow.

2. Technologies like AI should never negate the human-decision making process. These technologies should alleviate tedious or administrative tasks to preserve the user’s attention for the most critical decisions.

3. Be transparent when implementing new technologies within your community through public forums and a steady cadence of communications. 

These trends will help the first responders make faster and better-informed decisions. At the same time, they will help build closer ties between public safety agencies and the communities they serve. In the future, reality may even start to look a bit more like the television crime dramas we all enjoy.