Clare County Sheriff’s Department

Reveal helps protect law enforcement officers and improve fleet visibility.

The Sheriff’s Department in Clare County, Michigan always tries to align with their vision to develop a progressive, professional law enforcement department backed by sound administrative policy, technology and training. Its leader, Sheriff John Wilson, is passionate about creating a safe working environment to help protect the citizens of the county.

So, he chose Verizon Connect Reveal to help encourage safe driving and locate his officers quickly in an emergency. Sheriff John Wilson said, “There’s no cost on officer safety when it comes to knowing where they’re at. If they all of a sudden go chasing someone and didn’t notify dispatch, we know exactly where their car’s at.”

And after a fast, efficient installation process, they implemented the Verizon Connect fleet tracking system seamlessly into their day-to-day operations to get the visibility they need to help protect their officers and the public.

Operating safely when it matters most

Like many public safety fleets, the Clare County Sheriff’s Department can experience dangerous conditions in their daily work. Chasing suspects, racing to the scene of an accident and even helping out neighboring departments can require high-speed driving or traveling long distances away from home. They needed a solution to quickly locate their cars and help their drivers, even under extreme conditions.

Clare County’s previous vehicle tracking system wasn’t as intuitive as they wanted, and the coverage didn’t meet their needs. They wanted easy-to-use technology that could be implemented quickly, so they decided on the Reveal fleet management platform.

Promoting safety and communicating effectively with Reveal

Verizon Connect immediately met Clare County’s needs with a fast, convenient installation process. “We’d drive a car up, the installer would enter the VIN number, plug in the tracking device and say, ‘There it is’. The whole process was pretty simple,” said Sheriff Wilson.

Clare County is very happy with how easy Reveal is to use, helping them locate vehicles and track routes on a daily basis. “My lieutenant can just pop up the live map and say, ‘There are my cars.’” said Sheriff Wilson. “And the officers will use Reveal when they come in after they’re in a pursuit. They don’t have to remember what roads they were on and how fast they were going. They can look at the software because they all have access to it.”

Being able to coach officers and prolong the vehicle life were also key features Sheriff Wilson wanted from a fleet management platform. “Reveal tells me who’s driving harder than others. In the long run, it’s safety and wear-and-tear on the vehicles that it’s helping out with.”

Making safe driving and visibility top priorities

Clare County uses Reveal to streamline the way the department runs, providing convenience for the entire workforce. “Before, dispatchers would have to ask deputies their locations over the radio or would say, ‘Closest unit to this address, this is what’s going on,’” said Sheriff Wilson. “Now, the dispatcher’s screen has all the cars on it, even the ones that deputies take home. When we get a call in, they can look at the live map and say, ‘Well this car is only 10 miles from the scene and the other car is 15 miles.’ With Reveal, they quickly know which car is going to go to that complaint.”

With better visibility of their vehicles, Clare County can prove they acted in a safe manner. “If we get into a pursuit, and if we lose an officer on radio or something, we can replay the route,” said Sheriff Wilson. “We take that data and say here’s the route the person went, and these were the speeds we were going to keep up with this person. It’s all information we can use as evidence.”

Not only does the Sheriff like that he can use Reveal to promote safety, his crew appreciates it as well. “My deputies want to be seen. They want us to know where they’re at and if they need help. If they are in some type of situation where they can’t call us, we know where they’re at,” said Sheriff Wilson.

The Clare County Sheriff’s Department is no stranger to technology. They had vehicle tracking systems for years before using Reveal. However, after they made the switch to Verizon Connect, they knew they found the right system to help them prioritize safety and give them the visibility they need. Sheriff Wilson said, “Our previous tracking system just wasn’t comfortable to use. Then we got Reveal and I thought, ‘Why didn’t someone think of this a long time ago.’”

See how other fleets are benefiting from Verizon Connect https://www.verizonconnect.com/resources/case-study/

Visit verizonconnect.com or call 866-844-2235 to learn more.