SmartForce – SmartForce®'s Blog

From Compliance to Command Insight: How Chiefs, Command Staff, and Officers Use Stop-and-Contact Data to Drive Smarter Policing

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Modern policing produces more data than ever before, from stop and contact reports to ALPR hits, mental-health transports, and use-of-force incidents.
The question isn’t whether agencies have enough data, it’s whether they’re using it to lead more effectively, deploy more strategically, and build greater trust with the communities they serve.

Stop-and-contact data now offers an unprecedented view of police operations—helping chiefs, command staff, and officers alike move beyond compliance toward proactive, accountable policing.

1. Chiefs: Lead Proactively and Shape the Narrative

For chiefs, data isn’t just a reporting requirement—it’s a strategic lens into the health of the organization and the pulse of the community.
Key metrics include:

Race, ethnicity, and gender of contacts
Contact type and ratio of proactive vs. call-for-service stops
Action taken (broken down by demographic group)
Mental-health transports, use-of-force, officer and citizen injuries
Tag-based project data such as ALPR hits and special initiatives

These insights do more than satisfy mandates, they allow chiefs to:

Track fairness and consistency across operations
Identify emerging trends before they become public controversies
Communicate factually with city leadership and residents
Demonstrate that technology can be both a force multiplier and a transparency enabler

By visualizing initiation reason, reason for contact, and action taken, chiefs gain the full context of policing—not just what happened, but why.

2. Command Staff: Turn Data into Leadership Decisions

Commanders translate strategy into execution. Their challenge is using data to guide units, shifts, and divisions day-to-day.
CitizenContact analytics make it easy to review:

Initiation reasons and suspected offenses
Activity by area, group, or team
Tags for special projects or enforcement initiatives

Example:
A mid-sized Colorado agency compared search data between two districts.
Analytics revealed differences in search basis and contraband recovery.
Command staff cross-trained both districts—improving consistency, officer confidence, and community outcomes.

At this level, data becomes a tool for coaching, calibration, and command clarity.

3. Officers: Own the Data, Own the Conversation

For officers, data transparency turns routine reporting into a personal performance tool.
In the My Reports view, officers can see:

How busy they are and with what types of activity
Ratios of proactive to reactive contacts
Trends over time in enforcement, assistance, or engagement

This enables constructive questions:

Am I aligned with my unit’s goals?
Do I need training or support in certain areas?
How can I use this data to demonstrate my impact during evaluation or promotion?

When officers and supervisors have data-driven conversations, accountability, morale, and growth all improve.

Alignment Through Insight

When stop-and-contact data is used at every level:

Chiefs lead with confidence and context.
Command staff make faster, smarter operational decisions.
Officers understand and own their impact.

Together, they form an agency where data connects people, policy, and purpose—creating true command clarity.

Ready to See It in Action?

SmartForce® and CitizenContact® help agencies move beyond compliance—transforming stop-and-contact data into actionable intelligence for leadership, accountability, and trust.

Request a Demo or Contact Us to see your data in motion.

Idaho Springs PD Simplifies Compliance and Elevates Policing with CitizenContact

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Nestled in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, Idaho Springs is a historic mining town of about 1,700 residents, drawing tourists for its scenic beauty and proximity to Denver. The Idaho Springs Police Department (ISPD) serves this tight-knit community, balancing public safety with limited resources. To meet modern policing demands, ISPD sought efficient solutions for stop data compliance and community engagement, leading to their adoption of CitizenContact.

For the Idaho Springs Police Department (ISPD), complying with Colorado’s SB 20-217 stop data mandates was a persistent challenge. The agency struggled to collect stop data effectively, missing opportunities to gain valuable policing insights. Enter CitizenContact®, a game-changing solution that streamlined compliance, empowered officers, and delivered actionable analytics. Here’s how ISPD transformed stop data collection into a strategic asset, offering a model for agencies collecting and reporting stop and contact data.

The Compliance Challenge

Before CitizenContact, ISPD relied on its computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system to collect stop and contact data—a process fraught with issues. Submissions to Colorado’s state portal frequently triggered errors, requiring time-consuming fixes. Supervisors spent a lot of time data mining. Agencies navigating SB 20-217 may face similar challenges with stop data collection. While CAD systems are essential for dispatching, they weren’t designed for efficient stop and contact data reporting, leaving ISPD searching for a better solution.

CitizenContact’s Compliance Solution

CitizenContact transformed ISPD’s approach to compliance. Officers now log stop and contact data in just 60 seconds using their smartphones, even those less comfortable with technology. The intuitive interface eliminates complexity, ensuring accurate reporting without disrupting workflows. Monthly submissions to the state portal are seamless: a drag-and-drop process delivers zero errors, saving hours. “CitizenContact made compliance effortless,” says Sgt. Sonnenberg of ISPD. By simplifying data collection, CitizenContact frees the agency to focus on public safety efforts.

Beyond Compliance—Strategic Impact

CitizenContact’s value extends far beyond compliance, offering insights that enhance policing and leadership. Supervisors access real-time analytics to review officer performance, filter traffic stops by month, and monitor proactive policing efforts. These metrics help ISPD allocate resources effectively. ISPD also tracks high-visibility traffic enforcement initiatives with CitizenContact’s analytics, streamlining grant reporting to the state and monitoring performance. ISPD leverages CitizenContact’s analytics to deliver transparent council reports, fostering a shared understanding of policing and strengthening community trust. ISPD plans to leverage CitizenContact’s Tags feature to track automated license plate recognition (ALPR) hits, enabling evidence-based decisions to justify investments like additional cameras. Transparent data strengthens ISPD’s community relationships, aligning with modern policing priorities.

A Model for Agencies

CitizenContact transformed ISPD’s compliance burden into a strategic asset, delivering efficiency, insights, and trust. For agencies grappling with stop data mandates, ISPD’s success offers a clear path forward. By simplifying reporting, eliminating errors, and providing analytics, CitizenContact empowers departments to meet legislative requirements and elevate their impact. Ready to simplify compliance like ISPD? Contact SmartForce® for more information and a demo.

A Blueprint for Communication and Collaboration in Policing: Port St. Lucie’s Journey with SmartForce Ops Discussions

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Introduction:

Port St. Lucie is a vibrant Florida city boasting of rapid economic growth, cultural richness, and a firm commitment to public safety. It is the financial hub of the Treasure Coast and the sixth-largest city in Florida, with a population of about 260,000 residents. The Port St. Lucie Police Department (PSLPD), led by Police Chief Richard R. Del Toro Jr., is at the forefront of ensuring public safety in the community. The department has adopted stratified policing, a proactive and data-driven crime reduction approach emphasizing transparency, accountability, and community involvement.

Stratified Policing: A Model of Excellence

The PSLPD pioneered the stratified policing model in the late 1990s, becoming a cornerstone of modern law enforcement strategies. This model is based on problem-oriented policing and prioritizes proactive measures and comprehensive data to tackle crime efficiently. The model has been adopted nationally and internationally, shaping the future of policing. Dr. Roberto Santos and Dr.Rachel Santos detail this model in their foundational text “Stratified Policing: An Organizational Model for Proactive Crime Reduction and Accountability.”

SmartForce Ops Discussions: A Tool for Communication and Collaboration

The PSLPD integrated the SmartForce® Ops Discussions app into their daily workflow to optimize their operations. This tool centralizes all critical information, from incident details to overarching crime trends and specific policing projects. The app eliminates the chaos of disorganized email threads and outdated bulletin boards.

With Operations Discussions, teams across crime analysis, patrol, and specialty units can effortlessly share bulletins, links, photos, and videos, all within a user-friendly application. This streamlining of resources has helped to significantly enhance collaboration and how information is shared, allowing officers to dedicate more time to the communities they serve.

Impact and Efficiency

Since implementing SmartForce® Ops Discussions in 2014, the PSLPD has reaped tangible benefits, especially in how Stratified Policing is administered at their agency. The enhanced communication facilitated by the app goes beyond the confines of traditional formats like email, fostering a collaborative environment that is both dynamic and secure.

The app’s robust tracking capabilities offer a comprehensive view of officer activity, from time spent on specific projects to the outcomes of those initiatives, such as arrests, contacts, and citations. These success metrics reflect the department’s dedication to accountability and transparency.

“Despite a 41.1% population surge in the last decade, Port St. Lucie has reduced its crime rate by 45.7%. Our effective policing strategies and integration of SmartForce® Ops Discussions have played a vital role in this achievement, making us one of the safest large cities in the nation.”
PSLPD Chief of Police Robert R. Del Toro, Jr.

Conclusion: A Vision for the Future

The PSLPD’s successful integration of SmartForce® Ops Discussions underscores the transformative power of technology in enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement. The department’s journey is not just about adaptation but also innovation. The PSLPD’s story can serve as a model for other departments to adopt similar tools that can foster improved communication, operations, community relations, and public safety.

Learn more about how SmartForce® can help your agency improve internal communication and collaboration.

Transforming Police Work: How SmartForce Enhanced Crime-Solving in Carlsbad, NM

The SmartForce® Team
SmartForce Technologies Inc.

Challenge Faced by Carlsbad, New Mexico PD:

Several burglaries had the Carlsbad community on edge. Traditional information-sharing methods proved inadequate, leading to slow progress in solving crimes.

SmartForce in Action:

A citizen’s alert about a suspicious vehicle was logged into the SmartForce Shift Briefing App., a game-changer in how police information is shared and accessed. Unlike the previous reliance on emails or briefings, SmartForce ensured that crucial details were readily available to all officers.

Breakthrough Moment:

Two months later, an observant officer matched a vehicle to the description in SmartForce. This quick access to accurate information led to a traffic stop, unveiling burglary tools and stolen items. The suspect’s confession to seven burglaries was a significant win for the Carlsbad PD and the community.

5 Key Learnings from SmartForce Implementation:

Collaborative information sharing boosts responsiveness and valuable crime intel.
High visibility across the agency eliminates redundant efforts.
Real-time updates on SmartForce foster recognition and case closure.
Organized data leads to informed decisions and lawful arrests.
The District Attorney praised the detailed data capture, vital for criminal prosecution.

Take it From the Top:

“Officers love the search engine. It is much better than email and makes searching for intel fast and easy.”
Carlsbad Police Chief Shane Skinner

Conclusion:

SmartForce turns information into actionable intelligence, leading to safer communities and more efficient policing.

Discover how SmartForce can empower your law enforcement agency. Start by scheduling a live demo.

Join us on the upcoming February 14, 2024 webinar, “From Data to Decisions: How the Prosper, TX Police Department is Utilizing an Integrated Solution to Drive Policing Strategies.”