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Law enforcement officers face many potential safety hazards, but technology continues to evolve to help themmanage risk in all aspects of the job. Some current practices can negatively impact officer safety, with 96% of law enforcement professionals agreeing that being heads down while doing data entry can reduce situational awareness. T o help solve these types of safety challenges, technologies like speech recognition and advanced mobile computing platforms are enabling enhanced officer safety. Additionally, vital 4G LTE connectivity is maintaining connectivity to law enforcement data and communications. These advances in technology are helping to keep our communities safer. In today’s mobile world, solution providers need to think about officer safety holistically – whether on patrol or at the station. Panasonic ’s technology is already being used to promote safety and will continue to innovate as chal- lenges in law enforcement evolve. ALWAYS-ON CONNECTIVITY Law enforcement professionals depend on always-on connectivity to ensure quick response times and to be able to seamlessly communicate with one another in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. With devices that connect to 4G LTE on a dedicated first responder network, officers can stay con- nected, even if power is down or other wireless networks are crowded. Access to enhanced data on a dedicated network allows emergency per- sonnel to respond to public safety threats more quickly and efficiently, enabling more lives to be saved. It also ensures that public safety officials will have ac- cess to necessary information, no matter where they are. With current practices, law enforcement has to manually query the ad- dress for a history or person search in various systems to gain access to infor- mation on the subject — which can be both time-consuming and inhibit officer safety. In the future, enhanced connectivity will provide a critical connection to automated queries, simplifying the processing of big data. A heads-up display, which would keep officers’ eyes on the road and allow them to be more situ- ationally aware, will increase officer safety. SPEECH RECOGNITION AND MOBILE TECHNOLOGY Traditionally, an officer can spend up to three to four hours a shift on paperwork alone. This valuable time could be better spent in the field. Writing reports in the field directly after an incident has occurred can be beneficial with details fresh in an officer’s mind. Law enforcement officers have traditionally typed their reports in their patrol vehicles, which can open them up to poten- tial hazards, as they are heads down focused on a computer screen and not on their surroundings. continued on page 30 HOW TO USE TECHNOLOGY TO MANAGE OFFICER SAFETY [ A D V E R T O R I A L ]

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