Business Name: At-Scene, LLC.
Product: iCrime App
Officer / Department: Retired Sgt. Mario Galasso with the Metro Transit Police in Minneapolis
Website: http://www.at-scene.com/
What is your signature product?
The iCrime app allows an officer on the field to take photographs, record interviews such as Miranda dialogs, take notes, mark a GPS location, administer a drug test and more, and organize all of that information with a report number, date and time.
Where did the idea come from?
I had my own smartphone and I started using it at work. Then one time my daughter was playing with my phone and going through pictures – and there are pictures of crime scenes on there. I thought, this can’t happen – I need to make it so that these pictures aren’t in some open photo gallery.
How did the idea turn into a product?
While I was deployed to Iraq, I had some time to put my ideas on paper. When I got back to the states, my business partner (also a police sergeant) and I started talking about it. I had some money saved, so we hired a programmer from the University of Minnesota. The app was sold on iTunes to the general public at first, and then we brought it to IACP and we had police chiefs telling us, “You need to make an enterprise version of this.”
How does it work?
At-Scene works in collaboration with several companies to deliver a well-rounded product. A partnership with Law Enforcement Technology Group, for example, which owns a record-management system in squad car computers, means the app works hand-in-hand with the squad’s software, so anything that is done on the field is automatically uploaded to the computer.
Photos are uploaded to a media folder (and can then be deleted immediately off of your personal phone) and video and audio is directly uploaded to your department’s server, and is even compatible with your report-writing system.
Mistral Security Group also works with At-Scene to provide presumptive field drug tests that can be used as evidence in court and can be confirmed by a lab.
‘How to’ Video
How did you test it out?
We gave beta copies to agencies and to police chiefs at IACP, and from there we found out what would work and what wouldn’t. One of the things other agencies addressed was uploading times: each state has to comply with the FBI’s standards for uploading, so we brought on an attorney who was also a cop and well-versed in constitutional law. He guided us with what needed to be done to satisfy state and FBI requirements. It’s all legal and all secure.
Because At-Scene does all of their uploading through Apple, you won’t experience bugs, malfunctioning, or other negative effects of testing when you’re out on the field.
Where can you purchase the iCrime app?
The iCrime app is just one of the applications fit for Apple and Android phones that can be used in law enforcement. More information about iCrime, iBolo, and other apps can be found at At-Scene, LLC or can be purchased at the App Store.
