What most often is seen when new technology is developed for the frontline is that the technology isn’t created with ease of use in mind. Officers are often forced to press harder on their budgets and go through an entirely new training process in order to learn how to properly use new gadgets that purportedly ‘save time’. Obviously, the actual effect therefore of new police tech has the opposite of the desired effect: Cops don’t want items that will cost more time, money, and energy when they have one million other items that already do that for them.
Throw phones are one of these technologies that LETS is on the front of changing.
What is a Throw Phone? (and why you should replace them)
What is a Throw Phone? (and why you should replace them)
The most infamous piece of a throw phone system is a sturdy briefcase that holds a phone within. Attached to these cases are 200 yards of wire that link your team directly to the suspect and vise-versa. Law enforcement officer’s then ‘throw in’ this case and the wire through windows or into open areas and hope that the suspects open and use the phone to begin crisis and hostage negotiations.
The problems with these traditional pieces? A few. They’re clunky, heavy, complicated, and if you make one error in the setup process you’d find yourself having to redo the entire process! That means unspooling every cable, laying them out, and testing them. Throw phones are so outdated that most don't offer the ability to hand off the call to another negotiator or team member without having to go through the process of unspooling, laying, and testing more than once.
Often with new technology for the police force the problem that’s found is that the new technology doesn’t actually have an easier or more time efficient use than the old technology, especially facing the learning curve. However, when it comes to LETS, we knew exactly how to tackle this issue.
Instead of innovating and creating an entirely new product, LETS uses what you already have in your pocket and use whether you’re at work or at home: Your phone.
How LETS Works
Obviously, one of the easiest things to do nowadays is to open your phone and click an app, and that’s quite literally how LETS Throw Phone and Phone work. LETS Throw Phone product is a special smart phone encased in a truly light and easy to handle case that can be thrown into crisis situations without the concern of breaking expensive equipment or unspiraling miles of tangled up cords!
The suspect can then interact with the law enforcement officers in the way that suits them best. Nowadays, says crisis negotiator Nate Grgich in an interview with Police1, suspects are preferring to text with negotiations officers rather than call as they don’t want you to hear their tone or vocal inflections to avoid giving away how they really feel in the moment. With LETS, the response to this preference is easy, throwing the phone in and using LETS Phone will easily allow you to monitor and record any phone calls or texts that may be going through your team and the suspect.
Another plus for LETS Solutions is the ability to keep the conversation going between multiple team members and negotiators and the suspect. LETS Respond is a system that allows multiple team members to receive recordings and texts, and be on the phone live with the law enforcement officer and the suspect. This also ensures that when crisis negotiators need to depend on their team, they can without having to be concerned about distance as LETS doesn’t need to use heavy cables in order to be connected.
