Industry
Law Enforcement
Challenge
Hopkins Police Department was relying on outdated, manual processes to manage and share digital evidence—burning files to DVDs or USB drives, which consumed valuable staff time and introduced security risks. They also lacked an efficient way to share evidence with justice partners or collect footage from the community, making collaboration slow and cumbersome.
Results
Since implementing their new digital evidence management platform with Parallel Technologies, Hopkins PD has reduced evidence processing time by 75%, improved data security, and strengthened collaboration with both justice partners and the community. Staff now spend less time on manual tasks, and evidence sharing is faster, more secure, and easier to manage.
Key Product
Digital Evidence Management
We now process evidence in a quarter of the time it used to take, improving productivity and streamlining our evidence management process.
The Client
The Hopkins Police Department serves the city of Hopkins, MN, ensuring public safety through proactive law enforcement and community engagement. The department is committed to enhancing efficiency, security, and compliance in all aspects of its operations, with a strong focus on modernizing evidence management and video surveillance systems to better serve its residents.Improving Evidence Management Efficiency and Security
The Hopkins Police Department, serving the city of Hopkins, MN, has long been committed to public safety through proactive law enforcement and community engagement. As part of their commitment to modernization, the department prioritized enhancing efficiency, security, and compliance in their evidence management and video surveillance operations.
However, managing digital evidence was an area that needed a major upgrade. Their legacy system required officers to manually transfer video evidence onto DVDs or USB drives, a process that took up to an hour per booking. This method not only consumed valuable staff time but also introduced significant security vulnerabilities.
“Transferring evidence was tedious and inefficient, requiring us to burn files onto physical disks or drives, adding unnecessary delays and security concerns,” explained Captain Craig Kreiling of the Hopkins Police Department.
Adding to the challenge, the department lacked a secure and efficient method to share digital evidence with criminal justice partners and to collect evidence from community members. Physical deliveries and mailed files introduced both delays and security risks, making collaboration cumbersome and inefficient.
Partnering with Parallel Technologies for a Smarter Solution
To overcome these challenges, the Hopkins Police Department partnered with Parallel Technologies to implement Genetec Clearance, a modern digital evidence management platform. The department centralized their digital evidence, allowing uploads from any source, including surveillance cameras, body-worn devices, smartphones, audio, and documents, to be stored securely in one place.
Evidence sharing became seamless and simplified, eliminating the need for physical media. Gathering and managing evidence from internal and external sources was easier than ever. Data transferred through Genetec Clearance is encrypted, and the department configured strict access control policies, ensuring that only authorized individuals could access sensitive files.
Parallel Technologies guided the department through the implementation and training process. Through their ProCare managed services offering, the department received ongoing technical support, system enhancements, and hands-on training, enabling a seamless transition to the new platform. “Their expertise helped us transition to a more efficient and secure evidence-sharing platform, reducing manual work and increasing accessibility,” said Kreiling.
"For any department seeking a better way to manage digital evidence, Parallel Technologies provides the expertise and solutions needed to streamline processes and improve security. We now have a centralized platform that takes all aspects of our security system and puts it into a single pane of glass, making our jobs easier and our community safer."
Tangible Results and Future Expansion
Since implementing Genetec Clearance with Parallel Technologies, the Hopkins Police Department has seen measurable improvements in their operations.
Evidence sharing is now 75% faster, freeing up staff for more critical public safety tasks. Compliance risks have been significantly reduced through the implementation of a secure system for evidence storage and sharing. Collaboration with public safety partners and the community has also improved, with digital transfers replacing outdated physical hand-offs and simplifying the exchange of crucial information.
The impact has been significant. “We now process evidence in a quarter of the time it used to take, improving productivity and streamlining our evidence management process,” Kreiling noted.
Looking ahead, the department is expanding its use of Genetec Clearance, integrating it into city-wide security initiatives, including a new public camera registry. Parallel Technologies continues to provide strategic support, ensuring Hopkins PD remains at the forefront of secure and efficient digital evidence management.
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