12/12 in our series on police MISPER searches
If you missed any part of this Search-PRAS series or just need a concise business case in one place, this article’s for you. In simple terms, Search-PRAS is an advanced solution that integrates 2D and 3D mapping, geospatial assets, visualisation, data sets and procedural structure to cut time and risk in missing person searches. But that description barely scratches the surface of what Search-PRAS can do.
So, here’s a summary of what this vital tool could be doing for your force—a rundown of 12 key reasons why Search-PRAS is truly unique software that propels the planning and co-ordination of missing person searches firmly into the 21st century.
- Search-PRAS very quickly ensures the excellence of your force’s MISPER capabilities
Many searches are resolved quickly, but a significant number are High Risk cases. The longer a High Risk case remains unresolved, the greater the likelihood not just of harm to the missing person, but of it featuring on both mainstream and social media. The result: your force’s actions (and indeed its methods) may well come under intense scrutiny.
With Search-PRAS software, your force can ensure excellence in its missing person search capabilities. Search-PRAS integrates national standard data sets; it accelerates the mechanics of search area selection and search operations; it compresses search timelines; and cuts risk.
- Empower rapid planning in the office, and then execution of that plan with maximum efficiency in the field
With Search-PRAS, you can plan search operations quickly, precisely and with confidence in the office, then work efficiently in the field as required. At every step, the software ensures optimum connectivity, integration and coordination, while also ensuring that available resources are used efficiently.
Use it to plan search operations, task them out to units, and progress-manage and track them—all in one integrated, highly automated, end-to-end solution.
- Compress critical timelines in missing person searches
If you’re still using manual methods (as is the case still in many UK police forces), planning and running missing person searches will be unnecessarily time-consuming and error-prone, even if you are also using non-specialist digital tools such as Google Maps.
Search-PRAS integrated software removes that impediment at a stroke by being an advanced, largely automated tool that helps compress critical timelines and hence limit expansion of the search area, reducing consequent increases in risk and resourcing demands..
- Easily focus use of resources on priority search locations
Starting searches with the basic ‘simple search radius’ method means you may struggle to provide a solid, reasoned rationale for the resources you know you need.
By contrast, Search-PRAS is an integrated, data-driven solution for precise search area planning. With automatic reference to iFind and Grampian data, and easy selection of specific feature types such as bodies of water and woodland, for example, it tells you exactly what resources you need and rapidly arrives at a projected search time.
- Maintain an accurate, easily accessible audit trail of decisions
This is critical for all parties: the family and those closest to the missing person; PolSAs, IMPSAs and others involved in planning and managing the search; and senior officers—Chief Constables, ACCs and DCCs for example—who may have to face the media spotlight. With Search-PRAS, accountability is built in.
- Consolidate and leverage and enhance your use of existing geospatial assets
The chances are, your force has geospatial analysts supporting investigations, geospatial datasets covering your area of operation, and information streams from ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and the like.
Imagine all of those assets—and other data, too—coming together in a single visualisation framework to help you quickly build the optimum search plan. With Search-PRAS, they can.
- Stay on top of evolving missing person searches—and replan quickly, as necessary
With Search-PRAS, initial search planning is carried out once—and very quickly too.
Then, as the search develops and new intelligence emerges, updating details and generating revised search plans and task sheets is even more rapid. Just update a few details and let the software update everything else automatically. Briefing senior officers on developments, status and decision rationale ahead of media briefings is similarly quick and easy
- Achieve rapid focus on the most likely areas, before the search area widens
In MISPER, the sharpest possible focus on the search areas most likely to yield a result is key… before the search area widens and time starts to slip away.
Search-PRAS creates quick and easy range rings based on empirical databases such as iFind; it fine-tunes analysis with travel time assessments; it identifies features such as woodland, water, wells, etc for use in search area definitions; then it rapidly prepares search task information ready for distribution to search teams. What usually takes hours using manual methods is now achieved in minutes.
- Output fast status reports, visualisations, briefings and more to support all parties in missing person searches
Keeping all stakeholders up to date is essential. Search-PRAS can quickly generate status reports and contextual visualisations to support briefings to superiors and to the media. It can generate timely and accurate context for dissemination to front line officers and other involved parties, for example via Resilience Direct. Very importantly, it also helps you keep family and those closest to the missing person informed.
- Gain key insights by integrating case intelligence data with specialised mapping
Search-PRAS is a critical tool in helping to ensure that the majority of searches are resolved quickly. But when searches get complex and protracted, the software really comes into its own. Each new piece of relevant intelligence data—phone and internet logs, financial transactions and more—can be imported into Search-PRAS to add more detail to the evolving search picture.
- Empower your innovators with a software tool they may well end up using to improve other areas of your force’s work
The power of Search-PRAS extends to non-Search operations too—with our ingenious user community putting the software to uses we ourselves had often not imagined. Search-PRAS has proved its worth and ROI in cases where a complex area of police operations needs to be defined, sub-divided, tasked to teams, and carefully progress-managed. It has helped uncover criminal gangs’ attempts to mask their transport routes, and also provided multipoint visibility for optimised venue protection.
- Finally, Search-PRAS delights search professionals with integrated functionality they have probably only dreamt about
Search-PRAS is only fully appreciated when you see it and use it yourself. So it’s fitting that we conclude this series with reactions to Search-PRAS from participants (PolSAs and IMPSAs and others) on seeing it in action for the first time at our Search-PRAS courses or software demos. This what they say…
“It’s the Yellow Book, just all in one place on a computer programme…”
“It’s easy, isn’t it… and it’s a lot quicker…”
“That’s incredible…”
“I’m mind-blown by the system’s capability…”
Our users (and constantly pushing forward what they are able to achieve in their professional duties) are our raison d’être.
We hope this series of articles, and the user feedback above, convince you that a Search-PRAS remote demo (delivered via a Teams call) is most definitely worth around 45–60 minutes of your time.
To arrange your demo, please call Cunning Running on +44 (0)1794 834750 or email enquiries@cunningrunning.co.uk
