For law enforcement, situational awareness is a vital skill that many police officers work continually to improve. When you’re dealing with potential threats day in and day out, a situational awareness mindset can be key in keeping you and the community members around you safe.

When you combine this mindset with the advanced situational awareness technology that is rapidly becoming available to police forces, police officers can gain a real advantage in dangerous situations.

What is situational awareness technology?

Situational awareness technology includes a wide range of equipment, software, and hardware.

There are full situational awareness software suites, for example, that unify multiple tools to provide a more complete picture of what’s happening in an organization, town, or city. For example, the Verint Situational Awareness Platform can unify tools including body cameras, facial recognition, panic alarms, GPS tracking, and many more. This allows platform operators to view information gathered by each tool on a single interface, which can then be disseminated to the right agencies.

Then there are things like drones, for example - tools that aren’t specifically created to enhance situational awareness, but which nevertheless have a definite application. Drones equipped with video cameras are now being used by some law enforcement agencies to gather visual intelligence in active shooter situations or other dangerous scenarios.

Another tool is ShotSpotter, an audio sensor that can be placed in areas of high crime that detects gunshots and alerts law enforcement in real time. This allows for a quicker response time, as well as lets officers know the exact location of each gunshot.

The aim of all this technology is to enable police officers and security officials to make better decisions, while also protecting their safety and the safety of any civilians nearby. In fact, entire cities are beginning to jump on the “Smart Cities” bandwagon, implementing tech like smart streetlights, ShotSpotter, and more.

Situational awareness tech needs a situational awareness mindset

Just like any technology, situational awareness tools can’t do much on their own. In order to create positive results, the tech needs humans - people who can interpret the information that a situational awareness platform provides.

This requires cultivating a situational awareness mindset. This is something law enforcement officers are trained for, but anyone can develop this way of thinking. Security personnel, dispatchers, and emergency workers like fire and EMS can all benefit from practicing situational awareness.

The OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) and Cooper’s Color Code are both tools for situational awareness that law enforcement, soldiers, and first responders are usually trained on. However, there are other small things you can do to enhance your situational awareness as well.

• Pay attention to any “knee-jerk” reactions you’ve developed that may actually be distractions. For example, do you automatically check your phone when you hear a notification?
• Run a mental check on your level of awareness regularly. Are you zoning out? Are you becoming absorbed in tasks that don’t warrant that level of attention?
• Are you maintaining an agility mindset, ready to change your approach or response as the situation changes?

When law enforcement and police officers are practicing a situational awareness mindset, the power of situational awareness technology can be used to its fullest potential. This means safer communities, safer civilians, and safer jobs for our police officers and first responders.

To learn more about how public safety technology can help make communities safer, read our post “The Importance of Public Safety Technology for Public Spaces and Large Organizations.”