Common Challenges Law Enforcement Face
None of these challenges show up alone. Staffing gaps make the evidence backlog worse, the backlog eats hours that could go to the street, and every workaround adds strain to systems already past their prime. Understanding how they feed each other is the first step to breaking the cycle.
Recruiting, Retention, and the Personnel Journey
Departments are competing for a shrinking pool of candidates while experienced officers leave faster than they can be replaced. Technology now shapes the whole personnel journey: onboarding, training, wellness, and the daily workflows that determine whether the job feels doable. According to IACP's The State of Recruitment & Retention report, agencies nationwide are operating at roughly 91% of authorized staffing, and 65% have cut services or eliminated specialized units because of shortages.
Digital Evidence and Records Demands
Body-worn cameras and in-car video generate more footage than most records units can process, and every hour of it is subject to public records requests. Without redaction, transcription, and evidence management workflows, FOIA response becomes a full-time drain on sworn and civilian staff. Public records demand keeps climbing: federal agencies alone received a record 1.5 million FOIA requests in FY 2024, up roughly 25% in one year.
Emerging Aerial Threats
Drones are showing up over critical incidents, large events, and correctional perimeters, and most agencies have no way to detect or respond. At the same time, drones as first responders represent one of the biggest force-multiplier opportunities in policing.
Aging Dispatch and Records Systems
Legacy CAD and RMS platforms that don’t share data slow response times, frustrate officers in the field, and fragment the information investigators need.
Cybersecurity and CJIS Compliance
Law enforcement data is a high-value target, and a ransomware incident can take dispatch and records offline when the community needs them most. Ransomware incidents against governments continue to threaten operations. Comparitech logged an average of one ransomware attack on a government entity every day from January to June 2026
Tools That Multiply Your Capabilities
Drones as First Responders and Counter-Drone
DFR programs that put eyes on scene before officers arrive, counter-drone capabilities to detect and manage aerial threats, and the administrative and operational support services to run both.
Body-Worn Cameras
End-to-end, cost-effective programs covering cameras, digital evidence management, transcription services, and cloud storage.
Gunshot Detection
Hardware and software-based detection and alerting solutions sized for large, medium, and small agencies.
Enterprise Systems (CAD, RMS, Mobile Data)
Dispatch, records, and mobile data systems matched to agency size, with interoperability across the justice pipeline in mind.
Big Data and AI
AI-based search and big data management that helps investigators and analysts find the right record, face, or case connection faster and with greater accuracy.
Intelligent Site Management and Infrastructure
Fixed and mobile video, personnel protection capabilities, and the network infrastructure that keeps everything running.
Modernize with Purpose
Most departments know what’s broken. The hard part is sequencing the fixes. Through the JPS TRUST Program, Strategic Communications assesses your current environment, defines modernization priorities with your command staff and IT partners, and builds a practical two to five-year roadmap aligned to mission needs, security requirements, operational realities, and budget constraints.
