Combating National Epidemics
As a former senior law enforcement executive with over 39 years of experience, I have seen our communities confront several challenges throughout my career. From gang violence to the crack cocaine epidemic, I have been constantly amazed at the law enforcement community’s ability to adapt and overcome as they serve. I want to take the opportunity to document one of these challenges and the tools that can help us prevent as much damage from the next challenge.
Opioid Crisis Intelligence
Several years ago, at the onset of the Opioid Epidemic on the East Coast of the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration gathered several agencies in Washington DC. The goal was to discuss and develop a plan to share intelligence amongst all levels of law enforcement on this emerging crisis. As the Director of the Greater Cincinnati Fusion Center, I represented the National Network of Fusion Centers — law enforcement’s most powerful capability for the sharing of information and intelligence.
While the committee was tasked with addressing the ever-increasing use of heroin and the resulting high number of overdose deaths, it was quickly realized that methamphetamine, not heroin, was the issue on the West Coast. A high-grade form of methamphetamine coming from Mexico had become readily available to users in the western states. It was the unanimous opinion of the professionals on the committee that the methamphetamine readily available on the West Coast would eventually make its way east.
Rapid Methamphetamine Spread Across the US
As predicted, the high-grade methamphetamine has now spread across the country. It is being used as a cutting agent for heroin and is available in its purest form from street level dealers, just as it was on the West Coast. The prediction of this reality was available several years ago because of law enforcement professionals sharing information and data. This important capability for law enforcement is one of the most important reasons I decided to join Kaseware.
Moving Beyond Silos
With national and international challenges as widespread as these, it is critical that agencies collaborate and not operate in silos. Fortunately, Kaseware’s platform provides the case management and analytics tools that law enforcement professionals desperately need, while also making it extremely easy to share information across agencies. Agencies using Kaseware are given tools like REST APIs, data import tools, and Kaseware-to-Kaseware system sharing.
All of this puts as much information as possible in the hands of our communities, which ultimately leads to better outcomes. Kaseware’s platform can radically impact the intelligence community I care about to help us make more and better predictions for the communities we serve.
Problems like the opioid crisis that are exactly the type that Kaseware wants to help you solve. Please reach out to our team at sales@kaseware.com or schedule a demo today to learn what Kaseware can do for your organization.