Case Study | Brookhaven Police Department, Georgia
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Brookhaven Police Department
Brookhaven, GA
Brookhaven’s Police Department strived to find new ways to enhance resident cooperation in maintaining safety and order. Adopting a new community engagement platform made it easy for Brookhaven residents to engage with the department, resulting in more qualified crime tips and an increase in customer satisfaction.
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"Community-Policing Services is easier with CityGuards Police app. Citizens can quickly find services, access information and receive focused local notifications for things they care most."
Chief B. Gurley, Brookhaven Police
Brookhaven PD needed to revamp its communication strategy and wanted a tool that could be easily used by residents and easily managed by even non-technical staff.
The rising crime rates in major American cities has meant the police departments of smaller cities that share their borders are focusing on enhancing safety, regardless of incidents in the neighboring capital.
The City of Brookhaven is one such city, sharing a border with The City of Atlanta, Georgia. Brookhaven’s police department (BPD) is tasked with serving and protecting the city of more than 56,000 residents, prioritizing collaboration with residents, businesses, community organizations, schools, and other stakeholders to maintain safety and order in the city. To that end, they needed to find new ways to engage the public and offer the right tools to gain cooperation from residents.
The city website was the only place where BPD could communicate with its residents while fully controlling the narrative. However, posting on the city’s website required the IT department’s involvement, limiting the Police Department’s ability to communicate in real time during high-activity periods (nights, weekends, holidays, etc.). Brookhaven PD (BPD) searched for solutions that consolidated their need to communicate important information, allowed citizens to submit crime tips using pictures and videos to designated departments, and enabled BPD to send real-time alerts and updates to end-users without additional IT support. The department understood that for the solution to be widely adopted, it needed to be mobile-first and open for anyone in the community to use with no registration barriers. Social media didn’t fully address those requirements and suffered from a few significant disadvantages: There was no way to deliver real-time updates directly to citizens, communication falls short of its purpose when citizens can take over the narrative, and residents who don’t use social media miss important announcements.
BPD made it easier for the police to communicate with the public and for residents to cooperate with the police.
The department implemented CityGuards from ITsimple which presented new opportunities to engage the public and new tools to recruit cooperation from residents. BPD can use CityGuards to send area-based (police beat) real-time alerts, communicate information and make online services easily accessible.
The department was onboarded onto the platform in a matter of days, with even non-technical people on staff able to operate the administrative portal used to manage the system. Authorized staff can publish alerts and newsflashes to the CityGuards mobile app and the department’s social channels with a check of a box.
No longer reliant on the city’s IT department to post information or alerts, BPD can now communicate critical information to residents in real-time during high-activity periods (nights, weekends, holidays, etc.). BPD community policing units even send area alerts from iPads in their patrol cars.
As a result of centralizing the department’s communication with residents, BPD officers increased productivity, reduced walk-ins to precincts, and found a pragmatic tool to support COVID-19-related public health policies by making information and online services easily accessible through the app. Brookhaven Police Department’s units are also seeing more qualified crime tips and an increase in customer service satisfaction.
The app’s lack of registration requirements meant that it was widely adopted by the city’s residents. Brookhaven residents can now easily access department services or critical department information on their smartphones rather than trying to find the department’s page on the city website or looking through posts on social media. Instead of calling to submit a crime tip, residents can now anonymously submit crime tips using pictures and videos to designated departments and officers. Residents can also choose to be kept up to date on department news and alerts through direct notifications from the department sent in real-time.
BPD is already seeing results going beyond engagement with more qualified crime tips and an increase in customer service satisfaction.
Brookhaven Police Department is able to effectively communicate department news and alerts directly to residents.
Residents can receive real-time department updates and aid in law enforcement via submitting anonymous crime tips.
The department can manage its communications without any additional IT support, enabling the distribution of real-time information at any time of day.
BPD has experienced increased productivity, a reduced number of walk-ins to precincts, and found a pragmatic tool to distribute critical disaster-related information to residents.
Use of state-of-the-art technology results in an increase in productivity across the unit.
Implementing tools to enhance trust between the public and the police can lead to more effective community policing.
It’s vital to give citizens a tool for communication with the police department, that does not raise privacy issues, such as social media.
Residents will embrace user-friendly technology that makes them feel more secure and engaged with public safety.
Brookhaven PD worked hand in hand with ITsimple to introduce CityGuards and its advantages to the citizens. Officer Carlai Moore had created a great short video that introduces the app’s features and reasons for selecting this method of communication. You can find this video on the BPD website.
Any size law enforcement agency where community oriented policing is a priority and existing communications systems are ill-equipped to meet their specific needs.
Problem Addressed
Brookhaven PD needed to revamp its communication strategy and wanted a tool that could be easily used by residents and easily managed by even non-technical staff.
The rising crime rates in major American cities has meant the police departments of smaller cities that share their borders are focusing on enhancing safety, regardless of incidents in the neighboring capital.
The City of Brookhaven is one such city, sharing a border with The City of Atlanta, Georgia. Brookhaven’s police department (BPD) is tasked with serving and protecting the city of more than 56,000 residents, prioritizing collaboration with residents, businesses, community organizations, schools, and other stakeholders to maintain safety and order in the city. To that end, they needed to find new ways to engage the public and offer the right tools to gain cooperation from residents.
The city website was the only place where BPD could communicate with its residents while fully controlling the narrative. However, posting on the city’s website required the IT department’s involvement, limiting the Police Department’s ability to communicate in real time during high-activity periods (nights, weekends, holidays, etc.). Brookhaven PD (BPD) searched for solutions that consolidated their need to communicate important information, allowed citizens to submit crime tips using pictures and videos to designated departments, and enabled BPD to send real-time alerts and updates to end-users without additional IT support. The department understood that for the solution to be widely adopted, it needed to be mobile-first and open for anyone in the community to use with no registration barriers. Social media didn’t fully address those requirements and suffered from a few significant disadvantages: There was no way to deliver real-time updates directly to citizens, communication falls short of its purpose when citizens can take over the narrative, and residents who don’t use social media miss important announcements.
Solutions Used
BPD made it easier for the police to communicate with the public and for residents to cooperate with the police.
The department implemented CityGuards from ITsimple which presented new opportunities to engage the public and new tools to recruit cooperation from residents. BPD can use CityGuards to send area-based (police beat) real-time alerts, communicate information and make online services easily accessible.
The department was onboarded onto the platform in a matter of days, with even non-technical people on staff able to operate the administrative portal used to manage the system. Authorized staff can publish alerts and newsflashes to the CityGuards mobile app and the department’s social channels with a check of a box.
No longer reliant on the city’s IT department to post information or alerts, BPD can now communicate critical information to residents in real-time during high-activity periods (nights, weekends, holidays, etc.). BPD community policing units even send area alerts from iPads in their patrol cars.
As a result of centralizing the department’s communication with residents, BPD officers increased productivity, reduced walk-ins to precincts, and found a pragmatic tool to support COVID-19-related public health policies by making information and online services easily accessible through the app. Brookhaven Police Department’s units are also seeing more qualified crime tips and an increase in customer service satisfaction.
The app’s lack of registration requirements meant that it was widely adopted by the city’s residents. Brookhaven residents can now easily access department services or critical department information on their smartphones rather than trying to find the department’s page on the city website or looking through posts on social media. Instead of calling to submit a crime tip, residents can now anonymously submit crime tips using pictures and videos to designated departments and officers. Residents can also choose to be kept up to date on department news and alerts through direct notifications from the department sent in real-time.
Outcomes
BPD is already seeing results going beyond engagement with more qualified crime tips and an increase in customer service satisfaction.
Brookhaven Police Department is able to effectively communicate department news and alerts directly to residents.
Residents can receive real-time department updates and aid in law enforcement via submitting anonymous crime tips.
The department can manage its communications without any additional IT support, enabling the distribution of real-time information at any time of day.
BPD has experienced increased productivity, a reduced number of walk-ins to precincts, and found a pragmatic tool to distribute critical disaster-related information to residents.
Lessons Learned
Use of state-of-the-art technology results in an increase in productivity across the unit.
Implementing tools to enhance trust between the public and the police can lead to more effective community policing.
It’s vital to give citizens a tool for communication with the police department, that does not raise privacy issues, such as social media.
Residents will embrace user-friendly technology that makes them feel more secure and engaged with public safety.
Something Unique
Brookhaven PD worked hand in hand with ITsimple to introduce CityGuards and its advantages to the citizens. Officer Carlai Moore had created a great short video that introduces the app’s features and reasons for selecting this method of communication. You can find this video on the BPD website.
Who should consider
Any size law enforcement agency where community oriented policing is a priority and existing communications systems are ill-equipped to meet their specific needs.
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