May 26, 2021
Police
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VA – The Chesterfield County Police Department is implementing a new tool to enhance communication with community members.
In conjunction with the county's new computer-aided dispatch system, which came online this week, the police department is implementing SPIDR Tech, a customer service infrastructure built specifically for law enforcement. The Chesterfield County Police Department is the first agency in Virginia to use this platform.
According to its website, SPIDR Tech enables law enforcement agencies to automatically send one-to-one text messages and mobile-friendly surveys to crime victims, reporting parties and others.
In a video released on the police department's social media channels today, Col. Jeffrey S. Katz says SPIDR Tech will help keep residents informed about the status of their calls and give them another opportunity to give feedback about the service they receive.
"We want [feedback] on an individual basis because we want to see how we're doing on an individual measure," he says, "but also we want to look at it collectively. We want to look at where in our community satisfaction is high and where satisfaction needs to be improved.
"If we need to build relationships in certain areas of the county then we'll have that data. We'll be able to pivot and we'll be able to work to develop relationships where it makes sense," he says. "That is what a first-choice police department does."
Those who initially call the Emergency Communications Center and provide a cell phone number will likely receive text messages with updates about the status of their call, as well as a survey once the call is cleared. The messages will not be sent on call types that pose a safety hazard for the caller or responding officers.
Messages with investigation-related updates will begin going out when the department's new records management system comes online later this year.
To view the video, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm8rzkGTRW4