“Ultimately, my motivation stems from the relationship between individual growth and organisational success. When we invest in our people, and we empower them to innovate with technology and problem-solve, they can deliver exceptional results. In turn, the organisation thrives, solidifying its position as a leader in its field. This virtuous cycle of growth and innovation is what drives me.” CIO William Sanson-Mosier is reflecting on a journey of change for the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). Ignited by the transformative power of technology to enhance public safety and improve lives.
A Technology Transformation Journey
William’s team are focused on developing a combined ecosystem approach to technology at SFPD and are continuing to issue RFPs (Request for Proposals) to revolutionise public safety operations by implementing a comprehensive, advanced technology ecosystem. “It will lay the foundation for decades for us to have a complete ecosystem of technologies that we can leverage, rather than working piecemeal, so we can take better advantage of solutions from the likes of Axon, Motorola and Oracle,” he explains.
“When I arrived at the Department in 2013, we were not a software development company. We operated with an in-house crime data warehouse, a records management system that was just not sustainable. Furthermore, the Mayor’s office couldn’t budget for regular infrastructure refreshes and improvements so we only had one shot to get it right which necessitated the need for commercial off-the-shelf products. Also, we were experiencing space, network and bandwidth issues so needed to leverage the cloud to stay up to date and ease the refresh process. We were among the first police departments in the US to go to the cloud. I had no reservations of working with big companies like Axon that could provide a SaaS solution while maintaining liability and the necessary cybersecurity protections during our cloud migration with Oracle.”
Partnering for Progress with Technology
SFPD relies on a host of key strategic partnerships to meet the challenge of realising the goals the department is setting to deliver transparent policing to enhance public safety. When it comes to procurement, the City of San Francisco has created a technology marketplace regularly issuing RFPs for the department. “This allows us to procure professional services, hardware and software so much faster,” says Will. “With the way everything is moving with the cloud and SaaS components it’s about relationships. It’s a marriage with these companies, and it’s really challenging to divorce. So, you want to make sure you’re in a good relationship. The vendors that really stand out are the ones that understand and foster those relationships; they’re the best to work with.”
Delta Computer Solutions
“We started working with Delta in 2015 with the inception of our body-worn camera program,” says Will. “We’ve had a great experience working together and they’ve provided key support critical to our needs when we were not always able to get the additional staff we required. They have helped us solve complex IT and Systems Engineering challenges with our crime data warehouse system (built by Oracle), e-Citations, our prime data warehouse and migrating our Oracle PeopleSoft human resources system to the cloud.”
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters offer legal database solutions after replacing LexisNexis as a provider for SFPD. “They were able to deliver a much easier process for the department,” says Will. “Also, their partnership with Motorola and the Vigilant components for ALPR was the icing on the cake. Officers don’t have to run it via a stationary camera, they can do it right at the scene with an app on a phone.”
Mirapath
Mirapath are also a key part of SFPD’s technology ecosystem as a subcontractor working on its IT infrastructure. “A picture speaks a thousand words…” says Will. “We were on a timeline to deliver our new records management system. We’re doing more with digital evidence and more bandwidth required with body cameras, so we needed those infrastructure improvements. We did a trial and Mirapath blew us away with network infrastructure enhancements delivering 10GB-40GB fiber connectivity across our cabling. The speed we can now achieve is amazing for our officers in the field uploading digital evidence.”
Axon
Axon have been a reliable ecosystem partner for SFPD for over a decade. “They’re not a one and done kind of company,” explains Will. “We have regular check-ins with them, especially now that we’re working on the RTCC and our drone program. We’re also going to be using AI to take transcription from a body camera to generate a first draft of an incident report. We’re excited to be piloting with them on that. Axon understand how tech needs to deliver from the officer’s perspective, rather than the analytical reporting perspective. You can create things that a scientist would love, but then you have officers in the field that need to get a ten-hour shift wrapped up and then go on to overtime and extra standby duty and keep moving through their day. It’s a fresh perspective that you don’t often see from other public safety vendors.”
