By Lance Bullock, A/V & Engagement

FTO three-inch notebook, department handbook, city handbook, traffic vest, and flashlight. I remember lugging all of those around like I was in college again.  Then there were the daily observation reports, lengthy task list, and call logs that again were like homework after school, not college but maybe middle school. It felt more like middle school because it was all paper—and writing on said paper.  I remember understanding the importance, but good gosh this was a lot of writing. Also, just like school after a few weeks, the notebooks were getting all jacked up. The holes in the paper were ripping from the metal rings, and those metal rings would get out of alignment, and then there were the wrinkled, stained papers too – all real-world problems am I right? Because we were so busy during the shift, a lot of this work had to be done at the end.  Oh wait, ha-ha I almost forgot the actual reports from calls.  These were not done in a caveman manner because we had a computer to do all that on.  Hmmm...technology.

Fast forward to now, and I can’t help but look back and think, “Man, it sure would be nice if there was a more efficient way to do ALL THE THINGS when I first started.”  But this isn’t a new thought to anyone because that applies to so many things in life.  Whenever new technology comes to the market, no matter what it’s for, we often think it would have been nice to have in the past. Why?  Because it makes our lives easier, pure and simple. In a profession where there is already so much to be thinking about and multi-tasking, law enforcement needs technology to aid them in becoming better and more efficient. Law enforcement needs, no must—must be able to do more with less. Because that is the unfortunate reality. I’m not a certified police officer anymore and haven’t been in eight years.  So, for those of you who read this, I want to say thank you. I know many of you are frustrated, mad, sad, and just worn out because your agency is short of officers and has been. Thank you for continuing the fight, and thank you for dealing with the crap.

There are many sayings or phrases that are true and will never get old.  Timeless sayings if I must – Cops are heroes, not all heroes wear capes, etc.  I love working at Virtual Academy because it still allows me to be connected and try to help LEOs be able to DO MORE WITH LESS through technology and software.  One of those ways will be with our brand spanking new Field Training software that the company has spent the last 1+ year developing.  At Virtual Academy, our President and CEO has instilled the mindset to measure twice and cut once.  Sometimes we measure many more times than that, but we do this for you.  We wanted to make sure it met your reality as close as possible and allowed you to be able to DO MORE WITH LESS.