SCPD's Pioneering Use of Technology Supports Community Policing Policies - 5th Article in Series

The fifth article in the series about Santa Cruz Police Department’s longstanding commitment to Community-Oriented Policing.

Decades ago, the Santa Cruz Police Department equipped patrol cars with dashboard cameras and installed VCRs in the trunks to record officer interactions during calls. While it sounds archaic now, at the time, this was cutting-edge technology.

SCPD 1st law enforcement agency in the US to develop its own community engagement mobile app. https://youtu.be/UICUX6WHWwA

Fast forward 20 years and SCPD remains a leader in adopting new technology, in large part because use of technology and social media is a key element of the department’s Community-Oriented Policing.

Implementing new technologies gives SCPD the opportunity to engage with residents about their expectations for transparency, accountability and privacy. It also builds community trust and offers police officers additional communication channels to educate residents.

“We’ve made a lot of different technological advances over the years, starting with our mobile app, social media and predictive policing,” SCPD Chief Kevin Vogel said. “Anytime you can find a better way to engage it puts you at an advantage with serving your community.”

SCPD was the first law enforcement agency in the United States to develop its own branded community engagement mobile app. Launched in March 2011, the app provides access to the police department’s live scanner feed, interactive online crime maps, videos, photos, social media and the police department’s blog.

“Really, their goal was ‘How can we take all of our services and make them available in the way our community wants to access them?’” said Jamieson Johnson, a UC Santa Cruz graduate and Vice President of Business Development at MobilePD, the app developer.

“What the application does is centralizes a lot of different important services for the community to access.” VIDEO message from the app developer, Jamieson Johnson, a UC Santa Cruz graduate and Vice President of Business Development at MobilePD. 

Since SCPD launched its app, hundreds of law enforcement agencies have created their own mobile platforms. “But at that time it was unheard of and they were the first ones to do it,” Johnson said.

The department also was the first law enforcement agency in the county to utilize Nixle, an open communication forum that connects the police department with businesses and residents through text, email, a mobile app and more.

SCPD was an early adopter of social media, engaging with residents through multiple platforms to increase community awareness and access to department activities. The department’s current social media platforms include:
· Facebook – used to distribute press releases, request the public’s help in solving a case and share other items of community interest.
· Twitter – used for real-time updates during urgent situations and to share day-to-day activity with the public. Earlier this year, SCPD tweeted a “virtual ride-along” during a Friday shift to exhibit the scope and pace of a regular workday.
· Instagram and Pinterest – used to connect crime victims with their missing property. SCPD posts photos of lost, found and recovered property; proof of ownership is required to claim items.
· YouTube – used to share messages about safety with the public and help identify suspects in open cases where video surveillance is available.

SCPD also posts police logs online and shares updates about cases via its blog. Residents appreciate the access to information.

 
“The Santa Cruz Police Blog has been awesome,” said Deb Elston, co-founder of the community networking organization Santa Cruz Neighbors.

 “People love the blog, especially because neighbors do want to help find the bad guys.”

When crimes occur, SCPD’s online crime reporting portal allows residents to report minor incidents, like car break-ins, online. This saves officer time for more serious incidents and also gives a crime victim the option to file the report when he or she has time to do it and from the comfort of their own home. The SCPD website also accepts public comments and acclamations about officers. 

A recent — and well-received — addition to SCPD’s wide range of tech advances has been the development of the online bike registry. This program encourages cyclists to register their bicycles online and tags each registered bike with a blue and white California bike license.

The registry, the first in the county, is free and never expires.

Since the online bike registry program began in July 2016, more than 1,200 bicycles have been licensed through SCPD. Many are registered when they are sold at local bike shops, all of which have partnered with the police department to grow the program.“It’s going great,” said Linda Robinson, a SCPD records technician who leads the program. “It’s nice to see the enthusiasm.”

Linda with Bike Shop Owner Demonstrating Online Bike Registration

The hope is the license deters bike thieves. But in creating a record of the bike, which includes the serial number, a registered bike that is stolen and recovered by law enforcement can be returned to its owner.

“Bike theft is just rampant. It’s not just here; it’s all over,” Robinson said. “We have hundreds of bikes out back and we don’t know who they belong to.”
Click the links below for the past articles in the series about Santa Cruz Police Department’s longstanding commitment to Community-Oriented Policing. 
1st Highlights Community-Oriented Policing Tradition
2nd Community-Oriented Policing Provides Transparency, Accountability
3rd Community-Based Partnerships Reduce Crime
4th SCPD Youth Programs Help Community Policing Efforts Reach Kids

Police Scanner Feed Back Up and Running

The police scanner feature on our iPhone and Droid mobile app was down for a short while. The problem has been resolved and we are now back on the air. To those who let us know about the problem, thank you.

For those interested in listening to our police scanner using your desktop or laptop computer, simply click on the link below:

SCPD Scanner Feed

Scanner Feed Back Up

The police scanner feature on our iPhone and Droid app was down for a short while.  The problem has been fixed and we are back on the air.  To those that let us know about the problem, thanks for the heads up.  Meanwhile, we are working on some exciting new features with our mobile app partners.  Stay Tuned, we hope to release the updates in the next 30 days.

Department's Mobile Apps Featured in Western City Magazine

The Santa Cruz Police Department's mobile apps (for iPhone and Android) were featured in this month's Western City Magazine. Click here to read the story. Western City Magazine is published monthly by the League of California Cities and is received by over 10,000 public sector leaders throughout the state of California. The department's app was part of a feature on technological innovations in public safety and included programs developed by Redwood City, Santa Monica, San Carlos, Rancho Cucamonga and Cloverdale. The apps were developed in partnership with two recent UCSC graduates - they ended up starting a company called MobilePD that helps law enforcement provide outreach tools to the community.

Help Us ID This Suspect

On June 21st at about 9:30 am this subject stole an unlocked bike from restaurant on Mission Street. The subject is a White male 25-30 years old, straight dark hair, wearing a black hoodie with white lettering on the front, blue sweat pants and gray skate shoes with white laces.  

If you recognize him please call SCPD Investigations at 831.420.5820 or leave a tip on our website or via our mobile apps. 

 

Department's iPhone App Nominated for Award

The Santa Cruz Police Department's iPhone app has been nominated for the 2012 GovFresh award. Here are details from GovFresh:

Every day, tech-minded citizens across the country are doing good by their communities, literally geeking out about how they can help re-define the relationship government has with its citizens, using technology as a democratic tool to collaboratively empower both.
So much is happening in the civic technology community – website redesigns, new websites, open data initiatives, apps, camps, developer contests, and more – it’s hard to get a perspective on or truly appreciate the collective work of these dot-dogooders both inside and outside government.

You can vote for the department's app by clicking here. Thanks!

SCPD Wins Prestigious Helen Putnam Award for Excellence

At today’s League of California Cities Annual Conference in San Francisco the Santa Cruz Police Department was selected as a winner of the Helen Putnam Award of Excellence. The department received the prestigious award from the League of California Cities for developing the first consumer-focused police mobile application in the nation. Deputy Chief Steve Clark received the award on behalf of the department. “It is essential that law enforcement makes its information as transparent and readily accessible as possible for their communities,” Deputy Chief Clark said, “this app is one step toward that goal and we’re honored to be recognized as a statewide model.”

The Santa Cruz Police Department, worked with EZ Axess, a company started by two recent graduates of the University of California, Santa Cruz, to develop the application. The free mobile app is available via iTunes and the Apple store and provides access to the department’s scanner feed, online crime maps, videos, photos and a departmental blog. In addition, consumers can submit crime tips from their mobile phone and view alerts.

Established in 1982 by the League of California Cities, the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program recognizes outstanding achievements by California's cities. According to the League, the winning cities have made unique contributions to community residents and businesses, contributions which have resulted in lower costs or more effective delivery of services. The purpose of the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence program is to recognize and promote the outstanding efforts and innovative solutions by city governments to:

• Improve the quality of life in local communities
• Implement efficiencies in service delivery and operations
• Provide services responsive to the local community

"We believe that applications like this build bridges between the community and their local government," EZ Axess CEO Kushyar Kasraie said. "We are excited to play a role in connecting the community with their police department and assuring there are no barriers to access of information."

The mobile app is part of focused social media and web-based outreach strategy over the last year. During that time the department has created a blog, Facebook page, online crime maps, online tips, Nixle alert system and more. 

Scanner Feed Back Up

Thank you to all who contacted us regarding the scanner feed on our iPhone app - it is back up and working great!

Scanner Feed Back Up

The SCPD scanner feed (available via our mobile app) has been reinstated. It was down as we made some improvements to the audio quality. Recently there has been a degradation of quality and our IT department made some changes to improve the sound. The feed comes from dispatch through the Internet to your smart phone - because of that the quality is not as good as it would be if it were simply broadcast to a scanner or radio.