Do you want to be a COP? By that we mean, Citizen On Patrol (COP), the next-generation of partnering the community with technology in the fight against crime.

One of the primary tenants of Community Policing is to involve the public in the policing of their communities. Community Policing looks to identify emergent problems in a community (not always crime related) and develop strategies to address and respond to these problems before they become overwhelming.

As a former cop, I regularly turned to the public I served to act as a force to help me police my beat. By leveraging neighborhood watch, block watch and individuals taking ownership in the safety and security of their communities, I was able to better police my beat. Together, the citizens and the police tackle crime and problems in their community.

COP takes the involved citizen to the next level by empowering them with real-time information regarding crime occurring in their city at that moment. Just as dispatchers alert officers through their patrol cars that a crime just occurred and to “Be on the Lookout”, COP is the next, obvious progression. Dispatcher will not only alert the cops, but also the COPS. For example, let’s say a bank robbery just occurred in your city. The dispatchers immediately broadcast to all patrol officers a BOLO (Be on the Lookout) for a green SUV license plate ABC123. Just as police are notified, citizens who participate will also be notified via text message and instructed to call 911 if they see the suspect vehicle. Instead of having dozens of officers scanning for suspects, now we have the eyes of the community working together as a force multiplier for law enforcement.