By: Matthew Polega
Matt Polega is a cofounder and president at Mark43, a leading cloud-based public safety software company.
America has a crime perception problem, but it’s not what you think.
The public understanding of public safety trends is often skewed. An October 2024 Gallup poll found that about two-thirds of surveyed Americans believed crime had increased in the past year and that about a quarter of those respondents believed crime was an “extremely” serious problem, but the data tells a different story. While every crime is devastating to those impacted, their loved ones and their community, major crime rates have decreased.
The Perception Gap In Public Safety
Many Americans may not be aware of law enforcement efforts, from the federal government to their local public safety agency, aimed at supporting safer communities and preventing crime. For example, at the federal level, the U.S. government’s American Rescue Plan has committed $15 billion of direct investment back to public safety agencies and violence prevention initiatives, resulting in many specific ways local agencies have driven crime prevention programs to keep their constituents safe.
If people aren’t aware of these targeted investments, they may feel less safe—even when crime rates are dropping and strategic initiatives are in place. For public safety agencies, perception is not an abstract challenge; instead, it directly impacts how their community members feel about their sense of safety in their communities. It’s also increasingly important for agencies to leverage and share real-time data insights and intelligence from their public safety technology with the public for enhanced transparency, trust and accountability.
Public safety agencies face another challenge: shrinking budgets and staffing shortages. Many safety agencies are forced to cut programs and reduce the size of recruit classes—resulting in staffing issues. This can impact emergency response times, reduce visibility of officers in the community, wear down first responders and impact how safe residents feel.
Leveraging Modern Technology For Improved Transparency And Public Trust
Real obstacles exist, but smart investment in modern technology can help solve them by providing efficiency gains to mitigate stretched headcount and resource allocation.
Front and center to this are cloud-native public safety solutions. While the finance and healthcare industries are embracing cloud-native solutions, law enforcement has not been as quick to evolve. However, just as healthcare underwent an evidence-based transformation in the 1980s, public safety is now embracing data as a foundational tool in modernizing operations and improving how agencies protect and serve communities.
Cloud-native, data-driven tools can save officers time so they can spend less time doing paperwork and more time in communities. Modern policing is not about guns and handcuffs; it’s about timely, accurate data. Next-gen, cloud-native technology can collate data to guide decision-making, pattern detection and crime fighting, which can enhance situational awareness in the field and proactive community response.
This modern use and investment in cloud-native technology can also help public safety agencies mitigate budget challenges by serving as a force multiplier. By reducing the time that officers spend on paperwork, streamlining workflows and reducing duplication, agencies can save up to half of an officer’s shift every day. Cloud-native technology can also improve community visibility by increasing officer time in the field.
We worked with the Bethlehem Police Department in Pennsylvania, which serves 100,000 residents, as it faced operational challenges with its legacy records management system (RMS), the software solution managing and storing essential data for police operations. Officers and supervisors often spent half of their shifts on administrative tasks and report writing at their desks rather than in the field. The department implemented our cloud-native RMS, which resulted in officers and supervisors regaining 50% of their shift time so they could dedicate more time to community engagement and solving crimes.
Debunking Misconceptions And Building Public Support For Modern Technology
Despite the benefits of modern technology, several misconceptions hinder its widespread adoption and acceptance—both within agencies and among the public.
One common misconception is that agencies must bear the full cost of these technologies, potentially diverting funds from other important initiatives. In reality, state and federal grants are often available to support technology upgrades.
Another prevalent misconception is that public safety agencies are particularly resistant to adopting AI-powered technology to improve efficiency. However, a December 2024 survey we conducted found that about 87% of “law enforcement believe AI is transforming the public safety industry for the better,” and 65% of respondents “say it would help them be more productive and efficient.”
For true progress and lasting change, public safety agencies need more public support for these approaches and investments. To develop this, tech companies and agencies can be accountability partners to show the real benefits of technology on community safety. This can include companies enabling their government partners or customers to share data and information at public meetings, as well as sharing information with stakeholders through easily accessible online dashboards.
In addition, the grant writing process for public safety agencies requires accurate and up-to-date data on crime statistics, calls for service, response times and more. Modern technology can capture and report this data.
Conclusion
For agencies to embrace modern technology solutions, they need public support. Fortunately, technology can help public safety agencies tell their story and build trust within their communities. With a wealth of good data, agencies can show where challenges are and how operational choices have deterred crime and improved public safety outcomes.
Each day, public safety officials put on their uniform and accept the risk that comes with this noble profession, and the least we can do for our first responders is deliver the best technology. I believe modern technology isn’t just an upgrade; it’s essential.
Public safety agencies impact us all every day, though we generally don’t know it. Crime rates are important, and so is perception. Technology can improve both.
Original Story: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbestechcouncil/2025/04/15/how-tech-can-help-fix-americas-public-safety-perception-problem/
