Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog » law enforcement

Q&A with Paul Lucier and Larry Silver at the BlackBerry Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition in Washington D.C.

Luke Reimer — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:20:01 +0000

Last week Washington D.C. welcomed the BlackBerry 10 Jam World Tour – Enterprise Edition. With a particular emphasis on app developers working on government projects, the event shared a demonstration of BlackBerry® 10 as well as briefings on end-to-end enterprise mobility management. The speakers and hands-on workshops covered BlackBerry® Enterprise Service 10, BlackBerry 10 development frameworks, mobile application management, and secure connectivity to data behind a firewall.

I had the chance to catch up with Paul Lucier, RIM’s Vice President of Government Solutions, and Larry Silver, RIM Director of US Federal Government, to chat about the latest news in the U.S. capitol when it comes to mobility, and the fantastic ways that BlackBerry solutions are leading the way in mobile innovation. Check out the video below for the full scoop:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Do you work in Law Enforcement or Government? Do you see opportunities to improve your work form a mobile perspective? Share in the comments below.

Law Enforcement Leaders Discuss Their BlackBerry Experience [VIDEO]

Wes M — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 19:03:24 +0000

At Research In Motion® (RIM®), we are committed to providing law enforcement officers and public safety agencies with a full suite of mobile solutions that connect personnel and officials to their colleagues, and enable them to better protect their communities.

One of the biggest priorities for law enforcement leaders is to keep their officers – and the citizens they protect – safe. This requires a mobile platform that ensures the compliance and security of devices, as well as the security of the sensitive data accessed by officers.

We recently connected with several leaders in law enforcement to find out how their agencies are using BlackBerry solutions to help increase productivity, security and collaboration. Here’s what they had to say about their experiences:

[ YouTube link for mobile viewing ]

Visit www.upgrademyforce.com to learn more about the BlackBerry portfolio of solutions for law enforcement.

Do you work for a law enforcement agency that uses BlackBerry solutions? Tell us about your experience in the comment section below.

BlackBerry on the Frontline: Helping Police Forces Better Protect Communities

Wes M — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:54:03 +0000

In my previous post, I told you I’d be writing about some of the impressive ways governments today are using BlackBerry® devices, and how their work is innovative and visionary. One place you can really see the impact is in the area of public safety.

Police forces around the world have to keep up with technology – the bad guys certainly are! Law enforcement also has to ensure mobile solutions meet stringent security standards – ones that involve extra levels of authentication and encryption that prevent sensitive police records from unauthorized access. And policing is no more immune to budget restrictions than any other level of government, so cost-effectiveness has to be balanced with the real returns of making the mobile investment.

Let me share how accessing police databases while away from police cars is helping to revolutionize three police departments across Canada and the US: The Baltimore Police Department (Baltimore PD) in the US, and Chatham-Kent Police Services and Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS) in Canada.

Police departments can leverage BlackBerry® smartphones to access police databases, helping to cost-effectively enhance frontline policing:

Baltimore PD has 2,000 officers who use InterAct™ PocketCop on BlackBerry smartphones
WRPS in Canada deployed 300 BlackBerry smartphones with MPANiche
Chatham-Kent Police Services, also in Canada, built a custom application for 170 officers with their partner Mobile Innovations

What’s interesting about these apps is the obvious benefit of having critical police information in the officer’s hands versus having to go back to a computer in the police cruiser. This means an officer can verify if a suspect has a criminal record and if they match the mugshot. This allows greater efficiency and safety for officers in their daily work. And while we’re talking about safety, all three forces use built-in BlackBerry GPS technology to help pinpoint and map an officer’s location while away from vehicles – just in case they run into trouble while on foot.

Having a way to more securely access police databases like NCIC, MVA and CPIC from a BlackBerry smartphone is a huge improvement over in-car computers and radios – and it’s all done with the kind of security police forces demand. Chatham-Kent Police Services even uses an enhanced BlackBerry security tool like the BlackBerry® Smart Card Reader as well as SafeNet® Smart Card technology to enable multi-factor authentication, which means that the officer must confirm their identity through multiple sources before the information can be accessed.

In some cases, BlackBerry technology may even lower operational costs as compared to outfitting vehicles with hardwired laptops.

When it comes to public safety, BlackBerry is making an obvious impact – for the officers, for IT teams who need to ensure security, and for the communities the police are sworn to protect.

Have you seen a police officer use a BlackBerry smartphone on the job? Share your story.