Skip to main content Skip to Footer

LATEST THINKING

Multi-tenant solutions for law enforcement

Share information, intelligence and resources across agencies to improve performance, save cost.

Overview

The public today, expect law enforcement agencies to keep them safe everywhere, all the time, across jurisdictions, across all boundaries. There is zero tolerance for information to be lost in data and technology silos, unavailable to our first responders due to incompatible and disparate records and case management systems.

As well, public safety organizations are dealing with ongoing budget constraints, and must balance this fiscal reality against increasingly high citizen expectations and technology advancements that require new investments to keep pace.

Enter in multi-tenant policing solutions. Multi-tenancy is the ability to support multiple agencies in a single installation of a Records Management System (RMS). This allows agencies across jurisdictions to band together to leverage their collective resources to implement and share data management solutions.

Multi-tenancy enables information sharing and promotes collaboration; while generating economies of scale to provide more sophisticated solutions at a lower cost, and reduce expenses for maintenance and upgrades.

Background

Disparate systems that prohibit the sharing of information and the maintenance of accurate records are a major problem that law enforcement agencies need to address. Criminal activity and problems that require public safety interventions typically span the purview of multiple organizations. And even when the public can be well-served within organizational borders, the movement of criminals and criminal activity cannot be confined.

The average state has more than 300 different records management or case management systems. Disparate, disconnected systems are expensive, form information silos, create information sharing challenges and require complex integration solutions. In a multi-tenant environment, the majority of the system can be standardized across agencies— with shared applications running on the same operating system, on the same hardware with the same data-storage mechanism. A multi-tenant system gives groups of users access to common functionality with common data structures, all managed by security and access controls that regulate who can see and update records—in other words, one system with multiple tenants.

Analysis

Driven by the need to use public money more efficiently and spurred by the the digital age and a public who have become increasingly sophisticated, law enforcement agencies are continuously re-evaluating how they deliver services to improve public value. Organizationally, these drivers are causing agencies to search for efficiencies through shared information and technology, that transforms the way they protect and serve – making the case for ‘multi-tenant’ integrated solutions.

Multi-tenancy is also secure. A single records or case management system can serve multiple law enforcement agencies, allowing them independence without jeopardizing the security and privacy of their information. The owner of the information determines the access privileges. Within these systems, police organizations maintain autonomy and security of their proprietary data and information. Each tenant can customize access rights and permissions and dictate restrictions for users.

While multi-tenancy breaks down information silos, paired with mobile solutions it is even more powerful. Imagine getting information into the officers’ hands in real-time, no matter where they are. With mobility, incident, person and location information can be updated from nearly anywhere, managing workloads and allowing crime scene information to be recorded instantly. Using single data entry and seamless integration with other systems, officers can do their jobs with greater ease and better utilize information to reduce crime and improve effectiveness.

Podcast

Why multi-tenancy makes sense

Listen to a podcast with Jody Weis, director of Accenture’s Public Safety business in North America, discussing the benefits of multi-tenancy solutions.

Multi-tenancy brings together various technologies

Listen to a podcast with Jody Weis, director of Accenture’s Public Safety business in North America, describe how multi-tenancy solutions can bring together technologies to improve information sharing, collaboration, coordinated response, and deliver cost savings.

Recommendations

Law enforcement agencies cannot continue to effectively enable a safe and secure nation and deliver public services for the future without solutions that break through fragmented information sharing and intelligence gathering barriers. Multi-tenant solutions generate economies of scale, enable more effective information sharing and collaboration, driving increased efficiency and productivity. Most importantly, these solutions give police the information they need to keep their residents safe. Multi-tenant solutions are the future for modern police agencies.