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Situated in the commercial area of rural Josephine County in Oregon, Grants Pass Police Department (GPPD) is comprised of only 58 sworn officers, but holds responsibility for an outsized region. With the nearby state police and sheriff’s office limited to active calls for service and non-operational for certain parts of the day, and the closest backup a solid hour’s drive away, GPPD knows that they’ll “be holding down the fort for a little longer than others might”, says Deputy Chief Jim Hamilton, given the geographical and tactical constraints of their region.
More efficiency, greater effectiveness
This means that Deputy Chief Hamilton and his counterparts at GPPD are constantly thinking of creative ways to do more with less — and technology plays a large role in the agency’s ability to leverage their resources to the fullest. When they were evaluating the Axon Officer Safety Plan 7+ bundle, the Axon Body 3 camera was “the deciding factor” and its situational awareness technology was “the icing on the cake.” With Respond for Devices, Axon’s real-time situational awareness solution that features livestreaming, real-time alerts and live location maps, supervisors can tap into already-activated Body 3s to gain a clearer picture of incidents — at a moment when there is still enough time to send backup if needed, or to hold off if the situation is under control. “When you have real-time [technology], it’s a lot easier for you to make calls on resources and project ahead...versus waiting until people tell you what happened to respond. For us that’s huge because we don’t have help nearby.”— Deputy Chief Hamilton
GPPD has already seen impact with Respond in some of the most critical moments the department has faced — Respond helped supervisors, for example, send backup and medical support to the scene of an officer-involved shooting. But it’s the more day-to-day needs, not just the rare critical incidents, that make Respond an invaluable tool in the eyes of Grants Pass leadership — it offers the peace of mind that should an incident go south, they can make decisions based on the evolving nature of the scene. While GPPD has primarily used Respond for livestreaming, they see the value of its other features, like live location maps and alerts. Says Deputy Chief Hamilton of using real-time features in certain incidents that could change on a dime: “I think it is a force multiplier. You know whether or not to send new resources — it’s definitely a time savings.”
Supporting officers on the scene
And it’s not just about resource management — it’s about ensuring officers have adequate support as well.
“When you’re in the thick of it, you may miss some of those little things that are critical due to the stress and adrenaline...and not think ahead,” notes Deputy Chief Hamilton. Respond empowers agency leaders to help officers on the scene make decisions or provide them with backup, with a level of separation from the stress of the moment. And if there are lingering concerns around livestreaming, officers can be reassured that Respond is built from the ground up with safety and privacy in mind — it cannot be activated unless cameras are turned on already, and officers always know when a livestream is occurring. It’s all footage that would be recorded anyway, but the agency can benefit from insights in the moment rather than just understanding after the fact.
“It’s an insurance policy. With so many questions about what we’re doing, as a supervisor, you can get ahead of things. You’re going to save on that long-term cost if you are using this for quality control. You owe it to the community to say, ‘Not only do we know our officers are doing the right thing, but we checked to make sure and they are.’” — Deputy Chief Hamilton
This can make all the difference for officers on a stressful scene. They’ll know when help is on the way. They’ll know when they’re doing the right things at the right time. And they, along with department supervisors, will know that their agency’s resources are being deployed in the most effective way to ensure they can keep their community safe. That’s the promise of Axon Respond for Devices used with Axon Body 3, one that Grants Pass PD will continue to leverage in the years to come.