Innovation

We treated our workspace like a laboratory, and referred to it as such. We entertained ideas, concepts and possibilities, seeing many to fruition. Among other things, we experimented with new systems of transferring information, pushing the boundaries of traditional communication.

When Colorado and Washington residents voted to make marijuana legal, the silence from many government leaders, and law enforcement in particular, was deafening. We knew the public would have questions. Our answers came in the form of our award winning Marijuwhatnow: Public Education for Marijuana Legalization campaign.

Under the leadership of former SPD Chief Operating Officer Mike Wagers, we hosted the first SPD Hackathon. This event was attended by representatives from Amazon, Microsoft, University of Washington and more. The challenge was to find a way to process bulk requests of police video. Following the Hackathon, my team embraced a philosophy of radical transparency and published auto-redacted video to a dedicated YouTube channel, resulting in international recognition.

With so many people learning about police work from CSI television shows, we enlisted the service of Reddit, connecting police subject matter experts to our community with monthly scheduled AMA sessions.

With data showing that a young and diverse audience was connecting via Twitch, we launched our own channel. This was our own digital community center for those who might not make it to the brick and mortar facilities the city offered. While it was active, we used this channel to have open and honest conversations about contemporary, and sometimes difficult, topics.

With a cyber harassment becoming more commonplace, resulting in increased fear of swatting, we responded to community concerns by creating the first known anti-swatting registry. This endeavor resulted in international attention, highlighted a critical gap in our industry, and showcased a practical solution that is scalable to police agencies of any size.