“The response rate was high,” he said, citing the thousands of comments that came within the first five months. Because community members were already used to post-contact surveys from their favorite companies, it wasn’t anything strange when they received My90 requests to fill out a survey and provide feedback.
He shared several examples of how My90 strengthened community relations, improved safety and boosted morale in the Sheriff’s Office:
Neighborhood safety: A Hillsborough County mother reported a “suspicious person hanging out near a bus stop” frequented by children. This alerted HCSO to the threat, and they were able to apprehend the suspect – who was legally not supposed to be near children. “We were able to rectify that situation before it became a problem,” Portalatin explained. In addition to bolstering neighborhood safety, the incident immediately built trust when the caller saw how quickly HCSO followed up and addressed her concern.
Supported CALEA accreditation: CALEA certification requires agencies to survey their local community, and My90 met all the requirements. According to Colleen Slater, the accreditation manager, “the My90 report worked beautifully and required no extra work or changes to meet the requirements.”
Welfare checks: When several callers submitted concerning feedback about their experiences with welfare checks, HCSO knew that this type of call for service needed extra attention. At roll call, supervisors began to include brief reminders about best practices, such as how much time to spend conducting a welfare check. Without needing formal training, HCSO was able to quickly improve these interactions and the department began receiving positive feedback.
Encouraging feedback: While some people are afraid of the negative feedback that comes from surveys, Captain Portalatin says that the feedback has been largely positive and encouraging. Hearing good stories from My90 users “goes such a long way…It makes a difference to individuals when they can receive confidential feedback and hear that someone likes the job they did.” Dispatchers in particular, who usually don’t receive any type of feedback, found it valuable.
For Captain Portalatin, part of the appeal of My90 is having one integrated ecosystem for all of the agency’s Axon products and services. “We’re not starting from the ground up again, not trying to learn a whole new different platform, a whole new different software. It just feels like it was always there.”
For other agencies considering implementing My90, Captain Portalatin has this advice: Go “from the top down.” By getting approval from executive staff and disseminating the information down the chain, no one in the department was surprised by the new feedback. Additionally, agencies should put the word out – via their websites or social media – that they’re soliciting feedback through this service, incorporating their Public Affairs office if they have one.
“Anytime you can improve communication between the Sheriff's Office and its community, that's a huge benefit,” Captain Portalatin said. He carefully reviews reports summarizing My90 feedback. “Now, when you can join My90 results with the statistics we gather for crime data, you've got tremendous tools for making decisions about where to better allocate resources to help decrease crime and bolster community relations.”
To learn more about My90 and how it works with the rest of the Axon ecosystem, get in touch.
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