Excel is the industry-leading spreadsheet software program, a powerful data visualization and analysis tool most government organizations use. Learn intermediate Microsoft Excel skills for law enforcement inspections and auditing to enhance your knowledge and improve your effectiveness while adding value to your position and organization.
The first course is based on law-enforcement-related scenarios. It is designed to give you an intermediate mid-level working knowledge of Excel, specifically for Law Enforcement related inspections and auditing engagements. Functionality is introduced using easy-to-understand examples that are demonstrated so that learners can become comfortable understanding and applying them.
Training
The spreadsheet program is a powerful data manipulation tool that enables users to format and organize large amounts of information. The software is available for Windows, macOS and Android devices.
A spreadsheet contains a collection of boxes called cells, each representing data. These cells are ordered in rows and columns.
Cells are numbered and lettered to reference values in each row or column. The data is organized using graphing tools, pivot tables and formulas.
Excel is an industry-leading spreadsheet software program used by countless organizations to collect, analyze and present data. Its easy-to-use interface is designed to make data analysis easier for users.
DCJS has developed a series of Microsoft Excel spreadsheet versions of its monthly UCR forms to facilitate reporting by law enforcement agencies whose records management systems do not generate the necessary information for filing. These spreadsheets can be saved to a workbook, downloaded to an agency’s computer, or sent electronically as email attachments.
Records
Law enforcement excel spreadsheets are a valuable tool for storing and analyzing records. They can help you save time, especially when it comes to analyzing multiple sources of data.
They are also a great way to share and analyze information with others in your organization quickly. For example, they allow you to upload and edit data directly in a table that columns can sort.
Several law enforcement agencies have internal spreadsheets containing disciplinary records and other critical data. These spreadsheets are often updated automatically as new forms become available.
The records can be as simple or complex as the agency needs. They might be just case files or include evidence such as photographs and maps.
Similarly, you can download monthly UCR reports from DCJS in Excel format for use by agencies that do not have a system to generate this type of data. These forms are designed to be easy to use and can be saved on your computer or sent electronically as an email attachment.
Incidents
When an incident occurs that is serious and requires law enforcement to respond quickly; agencies must have an effective strategy for managing and coordinating the response. This includes ensuring that all personnel who arrive at the scene are coordinated with each other and their agency’s resources, preventing unnecessary officers from entering the scene, and establishing a staging area for responding officers and resources to report to.
Using Excel spreadsheets to document the critical incident will help ensure that all information is recorded accurately, comprehensively, and timely. This will also make the information easier to use for future investigations.
A good law enforcement excel spreadsheet will include information about the incident, including the victim, suspect, location, injuries, the property is taken, investigative notes, and evidence inventory. This can help law enforcement investigators and criminal defence attorneys understand what occurred so they can prepare a good case for review or trial.
Police Transparency
Police transparency opportunities are everywhere – to track performance, identify crime trends or help communities understand and collaborate with the agency that serves them. Across the country, agencies share data sets they’ve identified as important to their community, including workforce demographics, officer complaints and use-of-force incidents.
Those who want to go deeper can create their own law enforcement excel spreadsheets for research, analysis and other purposes. The spreadsheets can be categorized by type of information, making it easy to see which crimes or stops are most critical to your work.
The Colorado Springs Police Department, for example, released data on excessive and unnecessary force allegations against officers in a dashboard that charts 323 instances over the past three years. This information helped the department show that officers aren’t barbarians who’d stomp on citizens for missteps, and it built trust with the community.
