Most agencies know they need to modernize. Fewer have the systems, governance, or change management capability to do it well. The data shows where to start.
Article Highlights
- Where paper and spreadsheets are still running public safety operations
- Why your agency needs data visibility before anything else
- How to build data visibility at your agency
- AI in public safety is growing faster than the governance around it
- How to build AI governance at your agency
- Technology adoption that matches your agency’s capacity
Today in public safety, technology adoption can’t be an afterthought. Most agencies know they need to modernize, but few have the systems, governance, or change management capability to do it well.
The 2026 Public Safety Trends Report from PowerDMS identifies a widening gap between what agencies know they need to do and their ability to implement it. Based on insights from 1,975 public safety professionals, only 23% feel prepared to manage significant organizational change, like adopting new technology. Nearly half of agencies (48%) use some form of public safety software, but 58% still rely on paper and/or spreadsheets for key operational areas like training, compliance, and field documentation.
Agencies understand what needs to change. The challenge is executing that change while running 24/7 operations and managing staffing shortages—all without a change management process that accounts for actual capacity.
When those conditions aren't accounted for, technology adoption stalls before it takes hold. Even worse, it can create new problems such as inconsistent workflows, ungoverned AI tools, and siloed data.
In this article, we’ll examine public safety technology adoption in 2026, where agencies are getting stuck, and what it takes to close the gap between intent and execution.
Where paper and spreadsheets are still running public safety operations
Agencies are investing in technology, but public safety modernization is rarely a clean transition. The result for many agencies is a hybrid environment where some functions are digital and others aren't.
The trends report puts specific numbers to this. Thirty-five percent of agencies still rely on paper and 23% on spreadsheets for critical functions like training, compliance, and field documentation.
In practice, that means field training documentation still runs on paper evaluation forms. Training and certification records are scattered across departmental spreadsheets with limited visibility. Policies get distributed through email and shared drives, with no way to confirm who received them. Scheduling relies on manual rosters and phone trees.
None of these examples are outliers. They're standard operating procedure at public safety agencies across the country.
Inconsistency is the core problem. Many agencies also use public safety software (48%) alongside paper and spreadsheets, creating a hybrid environment that sometimes works well—but doesn’t always stop inconsistencies from compounding over time.
New technology expands what agencies can do operationally—body cameras, drones, VR training simulations, and telemedicine tools for EMS. But when those capabilities are surrounded by manual workflows, the operational benefit is limited. VR training tracked on a spreadsheet doesn't notify you when someone needs recertification. A body camera policy distributed by email still lacks acknowledgment tracking.
The real public safety technology challenge in 2026 isn't whether to adopt. It's whether agencies have the governance and execution capability to make technology work across the whole organization.
Why data visibility is the foundation your agency needs before anything else
At most agencies, decisions about staffing, training, and operations are made on instinct rather than data. The public safety workforce trends report shows how widespread that is—and how much it's costing you.
Only 17% of agencies report always using data and analytics to guide decisions. A third rarely or never use data at all. Without consistent data visibility, decisions about staffing, training, and scheduling get made without a clear picture of what's actually happening. Problems get addressed after they develop instead of before.
When agencies were asked where they needed more data, three priorities stood out: training needs and skill gaps (46%), employee health and wellness (29%), and early intervention indicators (26%). The priority is getting ahead of problems, marking an industry shift from compliance tracking to workforce capability management. Better data is how agencies do more with less—improving outcomes without adding headcount or hours.
The top areas where agencies want to automate tell the same story. Training and certification tracking, policy management, and background investigations are the highest-friction manual processes in many agencies. They're also where fragmented data creates the most risk. A certification that expires unnoticed. A policy update that doesn't reach every officer. A background investigation that stalls because documentation is scattered across systems.
Before making the case for investment, quantify the cost of fragmented data. Where does it create the most risk, administrative burden, or compliance exposure? Gaps in training certification create liability. Gaps in policy acknowledgment complicate legal defense. Background investigation delays cost you candidates. These are measurable costs, and they make the business case for investing in data infrastructure more concrete.
How to build data visibility at your agency
Data visibility isn't a technology purchase. It's a structural decision about how your agency collects, connects, and acts on information. Start with the operational areas where manual processes create the most risk and administrative burden. That's where visibility delivers the fastest return.
Here are some other places to focus.
Centralize your training and certification tracking. When records are scattered across spreadsheets and departmental systems, leadership can't see who is current, who is overdue, or where skill gaps are emerging. A centralized system changes that from a manual audit to an accessible, searchable database.
Integrate acknowledgment tracking and compliance reporting into your policy management. Distributing a policy through email tells you it was sent. It doesn't tell you it was received, read, or understood. Connected systems close that gap, creating an audit trail that protects your agency when compliance is questioned.
Use scheduling data and reports to identify overtime patterns, coverage gaps, and workload distribution before they become staffing crises. Data that lives in a spreadsheet can't highlight negative patterns. It has to be pulled manually, by which point the problem has usually escalated.
Track early intervention indicators through connected data rather than supervisor instinct. The report shows 26% of agencies want better visibility into early intervention data. Not because supervisors aren't paying attention, but because instinct alone isn't reliable or consistent across an organization.
AI in public safety: Adoption without accountability
Public agencies are adopting AI faster than they can govern it. According to the trends report, 23% of respondents use AI tools for public safety report writing, data analysis, and information summarization. These are practical, high-value use cases. But 50% of agencies have no formal AI policy, and 66% haven’t provided AI training to their workforce. Agencies are experimenting with technology they haven't built the infrastructure to govern.
The risks of AI aren't hypothetical. Agencies cited accuracy (53%), data security (40%), state and federal compliance (33%), agency policy compliance (33%), ethics (27%), and bias (19%) as top concerns. Public safety leaders are aware of the risks, but most haven’t implemented the safeguards to mitigate them.
The pattern of AI adoption is telling. Executives and senior leaders report higher AI usage than frontline roles. Experimentation is happening at the top but isn't translating to daily operations. That gap matters beyond efficiency. When frontline staff encounter AI outputs without training or policy to guide them, accountability is hard to enforce and public trust can be compromised.
This is a transitional moment. Agencies are moving from curiosity to early adoption, but most haven't built the capability to use AI responsibly. Now is the time to get ahead of that gap, before adoption scales and the liability scales with it.
How to build AI governance at your agency
Governance needs to come before growth. Your agency doesn't need to adopt AI everywhere. It needs to adopt it responsibly in the areas where it adds the most value.
Create a formal AI use policy before anything else. A policy makes AI adoption defensible. Define approved use cases, prohibited uses, data handling requirements, and accountability standards. If your agency is already using AI without a policy, that's a governance gap that creates liability.
Train your workforce on what AI can and can't do, when to use it, and where human judgment is required. The majority of agencies haven’t provided formal AI training to their workforce. Without it, responsible adoption isn't possible.
Start with high-value, low-risk use cases. Report writing assistance, data summarization, and AI policy training for retention have a clear operational return and are easier to manage responsibly. Build confidence and accountability there before expanding.
Don't adopt AI faster than your agency can manage the change. Only 23% of agencies report being fully prepared to manage significant organizational change. Introducing AI without that foundation only creates more friction.
Closing the readiness gap: Technology adoption that matches your agency's capacity
Technology adoption fails at implementation, not awareness. Not even a quarter of agencies are prepared to manage change. According to the trends report, the top barriers to public safety change management are communication gaps (44%), workload burnout (36%), and motivation and buy-in (33%). If your agency doesn’t account for these realities, your new tech may actually create more problems than it solves.
Interested in learning how to adopt public safety technology? Bridging the gap between intent and execution starts with the right priorities.
- Focus first on the operational areas where manual processes create the most friction and compliance risk.
- Build governance and policies before scaling adoption, especially for AI.
- Involve frontline staff in planning so adoption isn't top-down and disconnected from operational realities.
- Track whether new systems actually reduce administrative burden, improve compliance, or increase data visibility.
PowerDMS by NEOGOV gives agencies a single platform to manage policy, accreditation, training, scheduling, early intervention, background investigations, and community engagement. Trusted by more than 5,000 public safety organizations, it turns your investment into results you can defend with confidence.
Schedule a consultation to see how the right public safety technology can simplify implementation and adoption at your agency.