FBINAA Associate Magazine Q3.2021

FBINAA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION THE HEART AND HELPING HANDS OF THE ASSOCIATION

2021 Science and Innovation Award Nominees

I n 2021, the Charitable Foundation Science and Innovation Award received four nominations for programs, projects, and products. Since the purpose of this award is to recognize and promote creative thinking and problem-solving, it is worthwhile to share each nomination. Maybe a project or program can be replicated in your agency or community; maybe it can be adapted to fit your unique needs; or maybe it will spark a totally new idea that you can put to work. Every one of these nominations is worthy of the spirit of our award. Thank you to the NA members who served on the 2021 selection committee: Bill Berger , Florida; Nick Onken , New Mexico; Jeff Tate , Minnesota; and Brian Gould , New York. Thanks also to Thermo Fisher Scientific for their sponsorship of the Science and Innovation Award! The 2021 award winner is SPIDR Tech’s interactive customer service software package. SPIDR Tech CUSTOMER FOCUSED COMMUNICATIONS – ALLEN, TEXAS SPIDR Tech is a customer-focused communications platform used by the Allen, Texas Police Department. It was built exclusively for law enforcement use by a team with extensive front-line law enforcement experience. SPIDER Tech CEO Rahul Sidhu is a veteran law enforcement officer from Southern California.

The software interacts with an agency’s RMD and/or CAD system to inform callers of the status of response, to give details on disposition of the incident, and to send a customer survey after the call is closed. These contacts can be made by email or text and are fully customizable. For example, Allen PD used different messages describing response during COVID protocols, and burglary calls contain links to crime prevention information. Calls that are queued for 15 minutes generate a message detail - ing and apologizing for the delay. In Allen, more than 24,000 messages and more than 11,000 surveys were sent to callers by the program over the course of 12 months from January 2020 to January 2021. Allen’s response rate for the survey has been 21%, far better results than a typical survey. Although generally quite positive, negative feedback is helpful for improving the department’s performance. Respondents can ask for contact from a supervisor by phone or email. Positive feedback received from the surveys is shared directly with the employees involved and their supervi- sors. This acknowledges members’ hard work and reinforces positive behaviors.

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