The Forgotten Majority: Making Public Safety Tech Work for Small Agencies
Chris Carden, Business Development Manager, LeoSight
Having spent most of my life in and around law enforcement, one truth continues to stand out to me: technology vendors too often overlook the realities of small agencies. According to the Small and Rural Law Enforcement Resource Center, about 90 percent of agencies employ fewer than 50 sworn officers, and three out of four have fewer than 25. With nearly 18,000 agencies across the United States, that translates to roughly 16,000 departments operating with fewer than 50 officers. Those numbers should matter when technology providers set strategy, price, and availability. Too often, however, these smaller agencies become what I call the forgotten majority.
When I served in a small agency, I quickly learned that the problems we faced were not different in nature from those of big city departments. The volume of calls might have been lower, but the need for professionalism and rapid, effective response was the same. In fact, the challenge was often greater. Budgets were lean, personnel were stretched thin, and we lacked the specialized support teams that larger agencies take for granted.
Today, in my role as Business Development Manager at LeoSight, I hear these frustrations daily. Pricing models alone can effectively shut small agencies out of modern technology. Chiefs are left juggling spreadsheets in the morning just to keep the lights on, then pivoting in the afternoon to handle barking dog complaints, neighborhood disputes, or traffic accidents. In smaller communities, the work simply never stops.
This is precisely why I chose to work with LeoSight. Our leadership refuses to ignore small agencies. Instead, we have built a unified command platform that meets public safety needs regardless of budget or size.
At its core, LeoSight integrates Law Enforcement, Fire, EMS, and Emergency Management into a single operational environment. The platform directly addresses four foundational challenges that plague agencies of every size: fragmented data, limited collaboration, reactive investigative support, and lack of situational clarity.
Four Pillars of LeoSight Capability
Identify → Real Time Situational Awareness. LeoSight gives agencies a live, map-based view of incidents, units, and alerts. This can be accessed from crime centers, mobile data terminals, tablets, or phones. In rural or remote areas, where “you cannot get there from here” is often literal, it brings full operational clarity to wherever responders are.
Command → Agile Field Leadership. Instead of relying on a static command center, LeoSight turns any device into a command hub. Officers can assign resources, open staging zones, deploy drones, or direct action from the field. It is command agility embedded where it matters most.
Collaborate → Secure Cross-Agency Workflows and Communication. LeoSight’s unified platform allows CJIS-compliant communications and sharing of sensitive data across your teams, fellow agencies, and neighboring jurisdictions, while ensuring compliance and security. It also allows controlled release of non-sensitive information to media, elected officials, or community stakeholders.
Review → Comprehensive After-Action Insight. LeoSight captures every step of an incident in time-stamped detail. This streamlines after-action reviews so agencies can assess performance, celebrate successes, and pinpoint areas for improvement within one system.
From the moment a call comes in to the final debrief, LeoSight adapts. Leadership, officers in the field, and partner agencies remain aligned even as situations evolve rapidly.
Small agencies may lack the scale of metropolitan departments, but they manage crises that are just as intense. A routine call can escalate into a barricaded subject with shots fired, consuming an entire shift in seconds. For those agencies, the ability to identify, command, collaborate, and review within one system can make the difference between an effective response and organizational overwhelm.
LeoSight does more than connect cameras or record incidents. It connects agencies. The platform is designed to scale, from single-agency deployments to regional command centers. Implementation is structured around four phases: learning each agency’s needs, configuring integrations with existing systems such as CAD, AVL, drones/DFR, RMS, and VMS, launching with training, and sustaining through ongoing support. This mission-first approach ensures that agencies are not burdened by technology but strengthened by it.
The reality is clear. The 16,000 or so law enforcement agencies with fewer than 50 officers are not fringe. They are fundamental to how the core of American public safety operates. Demand and expectation are distributed equally, regardless of budget. It is time for public safety technology to catch up to that truth.
As we recognize National Preparedness Month this September, it is worth remembering that small agencies are not small in importance. They are the backbone of public safety in this country. Technology must be inclusive, scalable, and grounded in the realities of the people who serve. Small agencies deserve tools that empower, not burden. That is not only good policy, but also smart strategy.
