What Australian law enforcement and security professionals can learn from the Nampa Police Department’s experiences with digital transcription technology.
Law enforcement professionals need to create documentation that can provide credible evidence to support cases, and they need to be transcribed quickly, securely, and accurately.
Nampa is the largest city of Canyon County, Idaho, with an estimated population of around 100,000 people. The Nampa PD has 170 law enforcement professionals serving the community.
The Problem
Nampa Police Department (NAMPA PD) was facing staffing and budgetary concerns in relation to their in-house transcription dictation solution. The in-house solution required officers to type their own reports and spend nearly 30 minutes to complete a one-page report, which resulted in officers spending more time at their desk, and less serving the community.
Not only did the in-house solution require time, but it also at certain points required officers to dictate their reports in desolate and potentially hostile areas while ensuring they were not at risk – being heads down to their surroundings.
NAMPA PD was seeking a dictation solution that would provide an efficient, cost effective, flexible, and secure mobile dictation experience.
With the industry-specific knowledge, experience, and technology to work with and understand the dictation needs of law enforcement and police departments, VIQ provided Nampa PD with 150 licenses for MobileMic™ Pro Dictation and Transcription Services.
MobileMic Pro Dictation has allowed Nampa PD officers to:
- Turn their smartphones into a microphone allowing officers to create secure, high-quality recordings anywhere, including on site at incidents while in the field.
- Save time on reports, as officers went from spending 30 minutes on one page to dictating a page in a matter of minutes. Resulting in more time to serve the Nampa community.
- Create more detailed and accurate reports, as officers verbalize their notes, missing no details.
- Dictate from anywhere, regardless of their working environment, and have better awareness since they are not looking down at their computer screen.
VIQ Solutions Transcription Services has enabled Nampa PD to successfully transition from inhouse transcription to an outsourced partner that provides real benefits.
“VIQ Solutions’ MobileMic Pro Dictation has been an incredible asset to improving the quality, speed and security of our incident reports, interviews and dictations created in the field.” Oren McGuire, Patrol Lieutenant Nampa Police Department.
The Nampa PD states that the VIQ Transcription Services are:
- Reliable – they can always count on VIQ to turn documents around quickly.
- Economical – the use of VIQ Solutions has resulted in costs savings, in that the records division has more time to focus on more important tasks.
- Service Oriented – Nampa stated that the customer service they have experienced is excellent.
The VIQ Solutions MobileMic™ Pro Dictation and Transcription Services employ CJIS compliant data transfer encryption, device authentication and chain of custody tracking.
Via a mobile device, audio is captured in a way that supports documentation workflows, both in the office and on-the-go.
It also supports “one-tap” recording and multiple turnaround options to get users up and running quickly. Officers can capture high-quality recordings online or offline, and if needed, review and append recording within the application.
“Ultimately, using our services allows clients to fill the void in staffing, having Law Enforcement professionals in the field, rather than in the office,” states VIQ Solutions.
