In our last post, we discussed one of the biggest trends in the world of law enforcement: budgets are finally going up. According to a recent article by U.S. News and World Report, the “Freedom to Thrive: Reimagining Safety and Security in Our Communities” study found that city governments are finally giving larger and larger shares of their budgets to law enforcement. During and after the Great Recession, state and local agencies of all kinds had to learn how to do more with less, but a stable economy has brought an end to that state of affairs in many places.
Of course, this trend is also proving the old adage: with more money comes more problems.
According to the report, homicides and other violent crimes are on the rise for the first time in years, at the same time that police departments are facing heightened levels of scrutiny.
In fact, Kate Hamaji, one of the study’s authors, is one of many people urging cities to reconsider the way they spend these increased funds:
“There is a body of evidence, a number of studies that show that investment in things like mental health, housing, youth development, living wages – these are the things that stabilize and make communities healthy and full and in some cases are arguably more effective than policing and jail. There is a definite need for safety measures, but we want to redefine what safety looks like in our communities.”
Because funding will always be cyclical, it’s important for modern police departments to operate as efficiently as possible. One way to increase efficiency and boost accountability is to use an advanced government inventory system. In the same way that the commercial sector uses inventory tracking to cut costs, track important assets, and hold employees accountable, police departments require similar tools to do their jobs.
The typical police department must track thousands of weapons, safety equipment, police vehicles, re-purposed military equipment, and other potentially dangerous items. To manage these assets both safely and cost efficiently, it’s necessary to utilize a government inventory tracking system.
Efficiency is important, especially when it concerns your assets and your employees’ safety. You want to know that things are kept in order and that you’re getting the absolute most out of your investments. Commercial warehouses and businesses use things like inventory tracking software to accomplish this, despite the fact that less than 30% of warehouses are actually considered efficient by modern standards.
The government requires their own inventory systems and government software solutions to try and increase efficiency. Just because police budgets are on the rise in many major cities, that doesn’t mean departments can be profligate in their spending.
Looking to cut costs at your police department with better inventory tracking software? Contact ASTS Inventory today to learn more about our cutting edge solutions.
