Law Enforcement Mobility Trends: What Features are Most Important to LEOs?
Increasingly, law enforcement officers are relying on mobile technology to streamline their day to day responsibilities, from compiling reports to issuing tickets, to communicating with dispatch or command as well as other officers in the field.
In a recent survey conducted by PoliceMag.com, 520 law enforcement professionals from across the country identified key mobile computing features that are a top priority to help improve efficiencies on the job:
- Ruggedness: 80% of those surveyed identified ruggedness and the durability to endure any type of harsh environment as a key feature for mobile work devices to. Consumer devices can be fragile and are not built to withstand the range of environments officers encounter on a daily basis. Truly rugged devices last longer and ensure agencies make the most of their mobile computing investment.
- Touchscreen: 45% selected touchscreen capabilities on their mobile devices as the second highest priority. Reliable touchscreen capabilities give officers quick and easy access to police apps and software allowing them to transition from map applications to driver license lookups with the swipe of a finger.
- Portability: 43% percent of officers surveyed reported they value the portability provided by 2-in-1s, tablets and handheld computers. New highly portable form factors allow officers to access critical information like arrest warrants and mugshots on the go, in or out of their vehicle. As the size of police cruiser cabins have shrunk, smaller form factors make the most of limited space and the flexibility of 2-in-1s offer best of both worlds— the portability of a tablet, with the option of a full keyboard for heavy data entry tasks.
Other features that are top of mind for officers include screen size, the availability of a keyboard, and device battery life. To see the full results of the PoliceMag.com survey on Law Enforcement Mobility Trends visit: ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/computer/infographic/mobiltytrends_lawenforcement_infographic.pdf
