Not all inventors are crazy geniuses, some are just savvy cops.
Many times it’s the sergeants, sheriffs or officers who turn out to be the “ideas men” when it comes to a revelatory product. Makes sense, right? How often have you executed a function or used something on a routine basis only to say to yourself, “I could do this better”? This month, starting on pg. 5, we provide examples of new products that were conceived of by folks whose on-the-job experience sparked a new idea.
In fact, officers routinely offer valuable input to companies of all sizes, and time and again the end-user is richer for it. If you’re ever approached to consult or work on a new or improved project, seize the opportunity (and perhaps issue a fair and friendly warning to the business-types). That’s exactly what the collaborators of the Explorer throwable camera did (pg. 8).
Bounce Imaging’s Explorer was IACP’s ‘Hot Product’ of 2014 and Popular Science’s Invention Award winner the year prior. The round, pocked orb looks like something you’d give your kid for Christmas but is really a cutting edge, extra-durable camera with multiple lenses and sensors. Chief Joe Cafarelli, Team Commander of the North Metro, Mass. SWAT team was part of the group working closely with Bounce Imaging to take the product from concept to completion. Mark Clevette, Commander of Special Operations at Maine Department of Corrections also chimed in when he realized the potential the Explorer had in corrections. At this point, he said, the company learned what it was truly like to work with officers.
“‘In the beginning of development we set up our training room,’ says Clevette. ‘The first time they came up with a working camera, I told them it was a piece of crap … I didn’t think they would come back.’
He was wrong. Not only did Bounce Imaging show back up a couple of months later, but the team had incorporated the feedback and fixed every issue mentioned.”
Your input is often the best council companies could hope for whether they are developing software or handcuffs. If ever you look at your equipment and decide there’s room for improvement…there probably is. Speak up and reap the benefits.