In the computer age, software has made so many of life’s most difficult, time-consuming processes easier. Think of the labor and time saved by accounting programs, for instance, over the archaic processes of manual bookkeeping. Consider how online banking and payments have simplified how we manage our money.
Conducting thorough background investigations on job-seekers who want to become police officers has historically been one of those laborious processes. Now it’s another that has benefited from the digitizing of key steps via computer program. The innovative eSOPH platform from Miller Mendel helps law enforcement organizations simplify, streamline and expedite the process of vetting those they consider adding.
Here are six major benefits eSOPH brings to the background investigation process.
1. SECURITY
If your yearly Christmas card with $20 from Aunt Gladys ever failed to arrive even after she swore she sent it, you’ve learned traditional mail is not secure. Untended mailboxes are easy pickings for thieves looking for cash-laden holiday greetings, gifts and information of value. Even parcel services that track packages may leave them where they’re susceptible to theft.
When law enforcement agencies require the mailing of important documents during their background investigation processes, they can expose applicants’ vital and personal information to these risks – social security numbers, criminal and medical histories, past jobs, roommates and more. Yet that’s the way it’s historically been done: Agencies send packets through the mail and ask applicants to fill them out and mail them back. Even today they may send electronic copies that still need printed out, completed and returned by post.
Besides the danger of potentially harmful personal information falling into the wrong hands, this process is also simply slow. Snail mail may take days to go from sender to recipient.
Managing the process through eSOPH is both significantly faster and averts the risks of damaging documents being pilfered. Its electronic communications take seconds – and with a quicker, easier process, departments help prevent quality candidates from drifting away to other opportunities.
Miller Mendel and eSOPH meet the gold standard for data security. In 2023 the company – which has offered law enforcement background-investigation software since 2011 and now serves hundreds of agencies nationwide – received System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 Type II compliance certification through the completion of a technical audit and attestation report by an independent third-party auditing firm. With standards set by the American Institute of CPAs, SOC 2 compliance is based on five factors: security, availability, process integrity, confidentiality and privacy.
“It’s a rigorous audit,” said Tyler Miller, founder, president and CEO of Miller Mendel. “It demonstrates our continued and evolving commitment to ensure agency and applicant data is protected using the best practices.”
eSOPH also complies with relevant requirements of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security policy. It’s hosted on the AWS GovCloud platform, which meets all security and regulatory requirements of CJIS, the GSA’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
2. MOBILITY/PORTABILITY
While they’re not as anachronistic as snail mail, desktop computers account for less of our electronic activities these days – they are largely being replaced by smartphones and portable devices. A whopping 97% of Americans now own cell phones, and of those under 50, 97% own smartphones – a number that was just 35% as recently as 2011.
eSOPH is optimized for use on those mobile devices.
“Mobile compatibility is critical. Our usage data shows that both applicants and their references are accessing the eSOPH via mobile devices over computers,” said Miller. “If your background investigation software is not fully compatible with all mobile devices, you’re inherently going to see applicants drop from the process. References will also take much longer if they can’t access reference forms and respond from their phone.”
Text-messaging via mobile devices also provides some advantages over email, with faster responses, higher response rates and better reach among young people who may make law enforcement their careers. Miller Mendel has now added that capability within eSOPH.
3. ENGAGEMENT
The bigger advantage to that easy back-and-forth is a higher level of engagement – the application process can retain its immediacy and stay at the forefront of applicants’ minds, even when they’re away from their computer or doing other things. Research has found that text messages can have open rates as high as 98% and response rates as high as 45%. For email those numbers are just 20% and 6%, respectively. It’s also worth noting that millennials don’t much care for talking on the phone, making texting even more valuable.
Mobile-friendly processes are known to boost application rates, and Miller Mendel has found that more than half of all the applicants and references who access eSOPH do so from mobile devices.
4. COLLABORATION
With the security around eSOPH‘s handling of information assured, collaboration becomes a more comfortable experience. And the platform makes it easy.
“eSOPH strikes a very important balance with ensuring data privacy compliance while fostering positive working relationships with other agency’s background investigators,” said Miller. “Through eSOPH, agencies can select what information in their file they are willing to share with outside investigators and securely and electronically share that information for a limited time. The receiving investigator does not need to be a user of eSOPH. No longer does an investigator need to travel hours to take a look at another agency’s file on a mutual applicant.”
As one example of the easy interaction eSOPH facilitates, Miller Mendel worked with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) to develop an interface for POST law enforcement consultants – who work with agencies to assist their management and help them comply with standards and develop training – to review departments’ background investigation files through eSOPH.
Across the U.S., more than 200,000 applicants have been entered into the eSOPH system. While organizations retain ownership of their applicant data and all control over what they share and with whom – Miller Mendel doesn’t share agency data — with proper consent, background investigators can request data on particular applicants from other agencies.
5. INSIGHT
Today’s police staffing shortages leave communities rightfully concerned, and police chiefs and PIOs may be asked by media or citizens about the status of their hiring efforts. eSOPH provides the reporting functionality to have key numbers at hand to share with stakeholders and keep a good internal handle on the status of applicants and their background investigations.
“The insights eSOPH can provide are extremely valuable to background units and their agency’s command staff,” said Miller. “If a chief has to go in front of a city council and talk about what they’re doing to diversify their agency, for instance, they can use the insights they gain from eSOPH to provide information on how many candidates they’re looking at, their demographic breakdown and what percentage of applicants are passing versus failing the background process.”
eSOPH comes with a versatile reporting system that produces numerous preconfigured reports and allows the creation of custom reports to track data important to agencies.
6. CONSISTENCY
Whether a department employs experienced background investigators who have been doing it for years or entrusts less-experienced members with managing the process, there may be some variations in how they go about it. eSOPH helps ensure investigators are pursuing the same information the same way, and that a candidate’s success doesn’t rely on which investigator they are assigned. Consistency of approach also means that if whoever’s leading a background investigation for a department moves on, they can pass off a complete, workable package their successor can pick up and run with.
CONCLUSION
In recent years, skepticism around U.S. police has reached all-time highs – it’s likely part of the reason departments are having trouble hiring now. This mistrust raises the stakes: Agencies have to field well-vetted, ethical and professional officers who are equipped and resourced to succeed – and that resourcing includes having enough coworkers to do the job thoroughly and safely. Achieving that requires an investigation and hiring process that’s thorough, deft and quick.
eSOPH brings those attributes to the background investigation process – allowing investigators to focus on investigating, rather than administrative tasks and extended back-and-forth.
For more information, visit Miller Mendel.
