Elevating Policing Through Technology: Building Trust with a Cutting-Edge Cop App

Ken Schul

(Retired Captain, CMPD), Director, StackBench

Law enforcement faces numerous challenges every day. Implementing cutting-edge technology into daily police activity can reduce stress and improve everyday police operations. Not only can technology boost productivity and police effectiveness, but it can also be an excellent tool for building trust within the community.

Police apps are the future of community policing . The most effective way to build rapport, trust, and confidence between officers themselves and their citizens is through communication. Using a mobile police application crosses multiple bridges at once. When police departments embrace the advantages of cutting-edge technology, the positive results will soon be apparent.

Establishing Trust

Establishing trust within a community can make a difference in how those citizens view their local police. When the impact is positive, citizens are more apt to convey imperative information to local law enforcement. When there is trust, the public is more likely to offer support in all ways to law enforcement. The element of trust through communication can go a long way, prompting the community to want to help police officers with information regarding an incident.

For instance, when police receive a call, they are given information from the dispatcher, who originally received that information from the reporting party; when communication goes through multiple channels, the data can often be misunderstood or reported to officers improperly. Though dispatchers are highly trained in their field, there is always the possibility of human error. When law enforcement incorporates apps for cops, they are minimizing the gap for potential error.

The more direct the contact and the information, the less likely the intel may be misconstrued; when there is less miscommunication, it increases officer safety, situational awareness, and public safety as a whole. Information correctly given the first time can decrease officer response time as well.

With the use of a police app, law enforcement can alert the public of any situation happening. For instance, if there is an escalating police incident or a sudden traffic accident the Unified Communications Platform (UCP) Police app from StackBench allows police officers to let the public know what is occurring within their community. By letting the public know what is happening, law enforcement can develop transparency with the people they serve. Several recent studies have shown that when a police agency is transparent with its community and focuses on community policing, it provides peace of mind and confidence to citizens.

Benefits of a Mobile Application for Police

There are numerous benefits to having a mobile police application implemented into a law enforcement agency. Cutting-edge technology is in a variety of businesses; police work applications and other technology may enhance public welfare as well as the work officers do daily without extravagant costs attached. This particular type of technology can also increase officer safety. Since a police app allows law enforcement personnel a more direct way to interact with each other and the public, more information may be related much more quickly.

When a department utilizes a mobile application for police in their daily operations, they can connect with inter-office personnel more effectively and with the public they serve. The UCP Police app is an excellent way for departments to interact with the public. Apps for cops have technology that allows the public to send messages directly to their jurisdiction’s police agency.

The UCP Police app has a section for citizens to upload tips, leads, photos, and even live videos. With the capability to have instant communication, the public can provide, first hand, law enforcement with information. When an officer receives the information quickly, they can better assess the situation and respond to the call.


Likewise, a department can communicate directly with other officers through apps for cops, which allows for instant, more efficient communication. With UCP for Police Departments, supervisors can send emails and other imperative forms of information directly to their staff. Another benefit to the UCP Police app is the feature that allows the sender to see when or if the communication they sent has been read. For administrators and supervisors, this feature helps personnel keep each other accountable.

Cutting-Edge Technology at Its Best

Technology is progressive and constantly changes. It can be challenging to keep up with every new advancement or update. However, smartphone applications take away some of those difficulties since they often upgrade on their own automatically.

Police communication has faced many obstacles over the years; there are still challenges that come up today with the use of standard equipment. Apps for cops provide an additional form of communication other than police radios. With a direct line to the public, imperative information can be related to citizens more conveniently and effectively.

By implementing cutting-edge technology into a police agency, it bridges the gap between generations. Those in the younger population are well-versed in smartphones, applications, and correlating technology.

A cop app is a low-cost way for police departments to increase their reach throughout communities and is free of charge to the public. Applications such as UCP Police work on both Android and iPhones.

Peace of Mind

In a world of policing, public safety and protection are at the heart of every call officers respond to; a portion of maintaining welfare is being situationally aware. The more a law enforcement officer knows regarding the situation they are responding to, the better they can attend to the call and the safer the outcome.

The public relies on their local law enforcement to protect them and to keep the peace. Often police activity occurs without the public's knowledge; citizens are usually unaware of the details of an incident. People begin to form assumptions that often lead to rumors. It is best for everyone in the community when the police are vocal and alert the public about information regarding a situation occurring, as it provides peace of mind to the people within the community.

In turn, if there is a serious incident that occurs on one police shift, supervisors must let other officers know about the situation for their safety as well as that of others. When a mobile application is implemented, administrative and command staff can alert their personnel about serious incidents in seconds.

With UCP Police, the cop app takes that ability to the next level by providing a feature that shows whether or not the recipient has read the memo yet.



An application also gives police a faster tool. By using a police app, law enforcement can instantly alert fellow officers and the public regarding a situation at hand. Likewise, the public can use an app to provide important details to law enforcement regarding a situation. The more quickly communication is exchanged, the faster police can respond.

A police app allows the public to relate information quickly and efficiently. It also fills in the gaps that so often happen with miscommunication when citizens call into police departments. For example, if an individual calls a police department and they are able to tell the dispatcher everything except for where they are located, there is missing information that is important. However, submitting a tip through a cop app that has the ability to find a person via GPS takes care of this challenge. With access to a police application on their cell phones, everyone can have peace of mind.

The Best Public Safety

Communication and timeliness are crucial components of police work; community policing is best when there is communication between law enforcement and the people they protect. When a mobile police application is implemented, police officers can conveniently speak with their co-workers and the public can communicate with law enforcement. The community that interacts with their local police department promotes positivity and trust.

Law enforcement cannot exist without the men and women who put on the uniform each day. In addition, when police departments equip their officers with cutting-edge applications, it can enhance the abilities they already have. Technological tools such as cop apps do not hinder police work but instead help law enforcement do their very best for their respective communities.

A mobile law enforcement application increases police response time as law enforcement may receive imperative information directly.

In addition, applications such as UCP Police from StackBench can provide GPS coordinates when a tip is related to law enforcement if the person chooses to disclose it. In the event the reporting party is not sure of where their location is, police will still have that intel.

Police departments can use apps for cops to build trust and a sense of confidence and community with their citizens. The ability to send out one message on multiple platforms helps keep alerting the public about any potential danger efficiently. Additionally, law enforcement can use cop apps to announce positive events the police partake in in the community. The more the public knows about what is happening in their community, the more positive the outlook will be. Departments can also use an app to put information about the department out to the public so they can get to know their police better. Police departments may also provide the community with links to helpful resources.

Everyone Benefits from a Police App


Installing a law enforcement application into the daily operations of a police department benefits everyone who uses it; this type of technology makes it easy to relate information to the public and it allows citizens to report necessary information to the police with ease.

Police apps are also easy to implement and use immediately, requiring little to no training; because most of the population is familiar with smartphone technology, an application is a convenient and efficient way to enhance community policing.


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