Justice and Public Safety Cloud Resources
Justice and public safety agencies across the country are using the power of Amazon Web Services (AWS) to unlock their data, improve citizen experience, and deliver better outcomes. On this page, you'll learn how AWS is helping all types of justice and public safety agencies achieve their goals—and how you can get started with cloud. You'll find solutions, case studies, webinars, guides, eBooks, and more organized by topic, so you can quickly find resources for your agency's unique needs.
Courts
Courts have faced challenges with legacy, on-premise technology and data silos for years. But when COVID-19 hit, they needed to embrace online platforms to keep the judiciary open, operating, and functional.This disruption forced courts to change and begin a new, innovative way of working. Today, they’re continuing to progress by seeking modern infrastructure to help them serve communities where speed to data and decisions matter.
Enable remote hearings
At the start of the pandemic, courts had to transition quickly from in-person to virtual hearings. In a moment of crisis, many short-term or makeshift solutions were developed just to keep the doors open. They ended up with solutions that worked in a pinch, but didn't possess the bells and whistles courts needed, like integration with other systems and data storage.
AWS has partners who offer flexible, end-to-end solutions for virtual courts. Solutions like these offer registration and scheduling, video streaming, encrypted document upload, fine payment, and more.
Modernize case management systems
All courts have a case management system, either something they bought from a vendor or something they developed on site. Some like their systems and others struggle with day-to-day processing, lack of automation, or poor integration.
AWS can help create an environment to bring in future vendors. Our vetted list of case management partners can help point courts in a new direction.
Store records efficiently and cost effectively
Courts have an abundance of records and these records are often sizeable. Storing all the records tends to cause problems, either courts use an inefficient third-party content management system (CMS) or they store records on-premise, usually at significant cost.
Cloud storage on AWS can offer cost savings and increased security over on-premise solutions, as well as retrieval speeds and services like natural language processing that CMSs can’t provide. Plus, thanks to the AWS Transfer Family, it’s simple to manage and share data with simple, secure, and scalable file transfers.
Enhance video evidence storage
Video evidence needs to be stored for the lifetime of a case, some of which can last up to 6 years. Plus, in some jurisdictions, courts need to be able to prove video evidence hasn’t been tampered with.
AWS has solution teams who can help courts understand what they’re looking for in terms of video storage. After a business requirement review, we’ll know if we should bring in partners or recommend AWS-native tools.
Improve connectivity
Courts across the country struggle with connectivity because some are in remote areas, while others are in big buildings lacking good coverage.
AWS can help courts with connectivity issues. We start by bringing in a solutions architect who can diagnose the problem and make recommendations for next steps.
Courts cloud resources
Explore case studies, blogs, solutions, and more for court leaders.
New Jersey Courts system goes virtual with AWS Cloud
Learn how the New Jersey Courts system was able to stay operational during COVID-19, even with 99 percent of staff working from home.
Customers in all US states can now host criminal justice information on AWS
Agencies and organizations in all 50 states in the US can host criminal justice information (CJI) on AW
Modernizing transcription and media management
Find out how Marion County, Indiana, transformed its system of recording trials and hearings and generating court transcript
Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts saved 40% with .NET modernization
Learn how AWS helped the agency’s technical team to achieve their .NET modernization goals and save 40% on their total cost of ownership (TC
Arkansas Courts modernization project delivers cost-savings and increased quality of service
For the last s
years, the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts has been modernizing its legacy courts management system. By building its own system, the judiciary branch agency has saved the state millions.
Additional courts cloud resources
Explore additional case studies, blogs, solutions, and more for court leaders.
LA County Public Defender client-centered system
The Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office transformed its document processing, using AI to improve client management.
Transforming courts’ records management
With the help of TheRecordXchange and AWS, Marion County transformed its system of recording trials and hearings and generating court transcripts. The new system makes critical court operations more efficient and user-friendly for legal professionals and the public.
Our courts experts
Courts
De Ana Thompson
De Ana leads engagement with state and local courts for AWS. In this role, she aligns courts, associations, administrators, and vendors around solutions that streamline court cases, expand access to procedural fairness, and improve trust, confidence, and transparency in the justice system. Prior to AWS, De Ana spent 25 years with San Bernardino County working with state, local, and city government to make constituent official records more accessible. De Ana spearheaded efforts to make San Bernardino County one of the most innovative recorder clerks in the country. She has worked with Frank Abagnale and maintained the records of Wyatt Earp in 2011. De Ana was named National Public Official of The Year.
Law enforcement
Law Enforcement agencies are using AWS to deploy cost effective and highly available mission-critical services to serve their public and protect their employees. Cloud-based solutions for public safety result in faster response times, increased situational awareness, and better outcomes. Whether you’re looking for a solution for records management, digital evidence management, or video storage—AWS and our partners can help. We’re supporting law enforcement agencies to:
Implement sophisticated and secure access permissions
AWS meets the requirements of the most security-sensitive organizations with support for 98 security standards and compliance certifications, more than any other cloud offering.
Modernize legacy databases and systems
On-premises, legacy systems can hinder lifesaving services. AWS GovCloud (US), Amazon API Gateway, AWS Lambda, and AWS Fargate are just a few AWS services that can host sensitive data and regulate workloads. These services help customers scale automatically to meet the growing technology needs of citizens without compromising on Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Security Policy compliance.
Increase agility, innovation, and efficiency
Law enforcement agencies can utilize AWS and our partners to bring together structured and unstructured information in data lakes. This allows for the sharing of data seamlessly across platforms and between different units to uncover valuable insights and increase efficiency of reporting.
Law enforcement cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, solutions, and more for law enforcement leaders.
An AWS-based video solution to protect officers
AWS Partner Utility developed the BodyWorn body camera, a video recording solution with policy-based recording, where all video from body and in-vehicle cameras are automatically uploaded directly to Amazon S3.
Using data to inform decisions and improve outcomes for constituents
Hear from an expert panel on the new ways data is being collected and used by law enforcement agencies and best practices for maximizing available data.
Harnessing the cloud to achieve the "five-nines"
The technology systems used to keep constituents safe must be reliable, highly available and resilient. Read this paper to find out how the cloud can help agencies achieve "five-nines" availability.
West Virginia State Police helps protect children with crime database
By running its Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Data System on AWS, West Virginia State Police is helping investigators process case information in seconds instead of 1 week.
Faster, more accurate data management
Learn how the Richmond Police Department relies on AWS GovCloud (US) for their record management system, to easily input, integrate, and access all details related to a crime or a case.
Additional law enforcement cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, solutions, and more for law enforcement leaders.
AWS Marketplace for Justice & Public Safety
AWS Marketplace is a curated digital catalog that enables quick deployment of solutions that assist agencies in their critical missions.
How the Norton Police Department saves time and money
Learn how the Norton Police Department saves time and money with AWS Public Sector Partner SOMA Global.
Driving public safety transformation with data lakes
Learn how the Albuquerque Police Department used cloud technology to transform its relationship with data and improve public safety operations.
Customers in all US states can now host criminal justice information on AWS
Agencies and organizations in all 50 states in the US can host criminal justice information (CJI) on AWS.
Virtual training that improves real-world policing
Learn how law enforcement agencies can supplement instruction with a virtual reality (VR) training simulator to enhance training effectiveness, quickly adapt instruction to new needs, and help officers improve decision-making and response in the field.
Our law enforcement experts
Law Enforcement
Matt Melton
Matt is a graduate of the US Naval Academy and served as a naval intelligence officer. Since leaving active duty in 2012, Matt has been focused on bringing innovation into the law enforcement and public safety communities. After working at multiple startups in the law enforcement space, Matt joined AWS in January 2018. At AWS, he focuses on working with agencies and technology companies to solve critical problems facing the public safety community.
Scott Montgomery
Scott is the leader for the law enforcement team at AWS. Prior to AWS, he worked at Microsoft for three years. During his time there, he was a Program Manager for the Microsoft patrol car and a solutions specialist for their defense and intel vertical. Before joining Microsoft, Scott was a police officer for 13 years.
Emergency services
Emergencies and national disasters can strike at any moment. And with the change in how people communicate, from the internet to cell phones and more, emergency response systems need to be modernized to meet the immediate, urgent needs of constituents. AWS supports many disaster recovery architectures, from those built for smaller workloads to enterprise solutions that enable rapid failover at scale. The AWS Cloud empowers emergency services with scalability, high-availability, and reduced costs.
Minimize downtime and data loss with fast, reliable disaster recovery
AWS provides a set of cloud-based disaster recovery services that enable fast recovery of your IT infrastructure and data. Read how Livingston Parish prepares for natural disasters by running its computer aided dispatch (CAD) on Amazon Linux 2 and Amazon EC2 to improve resiliency in the cloud.
Improve interoperability of emergency communications data
A new generation of cloud-based software can accelerate response times when seconds or minutes could have life-or-death consequences.
Manage call centers with fewer resources
911 centers are losing staff and these roles are hard to backfill and train. Amazon Connect, our simple omnichannel cloud contact center automates processes and improves call answering times for non-emergency calls.
Emergency services cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, and more for emergency services leaders.
Make better decisions faster
The Orleans Parish Communications District’s (OPCD), in partnership with AWS, has harnessed data to make response time to city emergencies as quick as possible, delivering better services on the groun
Employ artificial intelligence and machine learning in 911 centers
Learn how AWS is helping the 911 community mitigate staff shortages impacting call wait times by automating the receipt and resolution of designated non-emergency calls
Exchange critical data with maximum efficiency
Traditionally, 911 operators have to call individual hospitals to see if they have the appropriate resources for incoming patients. Now, NYC 911 operators and hospitals are exchanging critical data via an innovative data platfo
Improving caller location on over 85% of emergency calls
Using AWS cloud-native technology, AWS Partner Carbyne empowers first responders with live video, instant messaging, and pinpoint locati
Why data interoperability is a game-changer for emergency response
Read this brief to better understand the benefits and challenges of implementing modern data-interoperability software, and learn best practices for embracing innovations in data sharin
Additional emergency services cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, and more for emergency services leaders.
Supporting 911 centers with non-emergency response solutions
Learn how the Jefferson County Communications Center Authority is already seeing improvements in handling non-emergency calls at scale with an AWS solution.
Orleans Parish Communications District reduces response time
The Orleans Parish Communications District’s (OPCD) mission is the emergency communications center for the city of New Orleans. The agency has a mission to get the right people to the right place at the right time. In partnership with AWS, OCPD has harnessed data to make response time to city emergencies as quick as possible, delivering better services on the ground.
Our emergency services experts
Emergency Services
John Persano
John Persano is a senior business development manager for 911 and justice and public safety at AWS. John centered his career on supporting public safety agencies, specifically in the fields of training, exercises, technology identification, and technology adoption. In October 2020, John joined AWS as the 911 and emergency communications sub-vertical lead. He focuses his efforts on innovation within the 911 community, emergency communications personnel, and technology companies.
Corrections
Modern correctional facilities aren’t just about incarceration, they’re also about safety, communication, education, healthcare, and connection. That’s because studies show rehabilitation makes a big difference in recidivism and improving communities. AWS can help correctional facilities to modernize their IT infrastructure, innovate, and adopt cloud-based software solutions.
Improve connectivity
Due to where they are and how they’re built, correctional facilities across the country struggle with connectivity.
AWS Direct Connect can help. Plus, we have several partners who offer a broad spectrum of solutions, including Wi-Fi, 5G modems, and last-mile PTP microwave.
Modernize case management systems
Case management systems, most often called offender management systems (OMS) or jail management systems (JMS), are critical, but often out of date. This makes them ripe for replacement done responsively, meaning not in one fell swoop. Modernization of these systems creates efficiencies while also enabling data analytics not available on existing legacy systems. Analytics in the corrections environment helps to identify trends and allows organizations to make data informed decisions regarding policy and operations.
AWS has partners and solutions that can help agencies explore if incremental modernization is possible. One size does not fit all in this area, but we can assist by evaluating your options as you move forward.
Improve video and digital evidence storage
Increased retention requirements and the adoption of body-worn cameras have made corrections facilities some of the biggest video data consumers in justice and public safety.
AWS partners can help store and manage data. Plus, customers in all 50 states can host criminal justice information on AWS. Storing data in AWS provides for high availability, security, and the ability to modernize workloads, like eDiscovery which can be otherwise time consuming in the corrections environment.
Create innovative and secure communications
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed how important technology was to corrections facilities. Without it, people couldn’t learn, couldn’t visit, and couldn’t stay connected to their legal counsel.
AWS has partners who can help increase capacity, provide video visitation, allow electronic delivery of legal discovery documents, curate resources that prepare people to re-enter society, and more. Solutions are implemented with security—the top priority in this environment.
Enhance operations and help improve accountability
The demand for transparency and accountability in the American justice system continues. As a result, agencies throughout the country are adopting tools like body-worn cameras to increase availability of relevant information. AWS services and partners can assist. Efficiencies in storage solutions and modernized workflows combined with the application of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) enable organizations to improve operations while ensuring accountability.
More on corrections
Modern correctional facilities aren’t just about incarceration, they’re also about safety, communication, education, healthcare, and connection. That’s because studies show rehabilitation makes a big difference in recidivism and improving communities. AWS can help correctional facilities to modernize their IT infrastructure, innovate, and adopt cloud-based software solutions.
Support alternatives to incarceration through electronic supervision
Organizations around the world scrambled to identify alternatives to incarceration for low-risk offenders due to the increased impact of COVID-19 in corrections facilities. As a result, several AWS partners have developed smartphone apps to enhance electronics supervision. These apps are focused on enabling people to remain compliant with terms of release by utilizing calendar reminders, automated check ins, remote mentors, counseling, and healthcare services. Effective assistive supervision-leveraging technology can reduce the number of people incarcerated and lower the rate of recidivism.
Increase access to education and employment
Studies show one of the best ways to reduce recidivism is by helping incarcerated people obtain education and training required to gain and retain living wage employment upon release. We have several partners focused on this issue. Amazon actively invests in supporting this work, including upskilling to help incarcerated develop cloud skills.
Corrections cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, and more for corrections leaders.
This AWS Cloud certification program opens new paths for inmates
Learn how a jail-based program aims to expand career opportunities through cloud-skills trainin
Building community trust for law enforcement: Recruitment and retention
Hear from a panel of law enforcement experts as they explore critical issues facing law enforcement leaders today and how to pave a path to a better future.
AWS Marketplace for Justice & Public Safety
AWS Marketplace is a curated digital catalog that enables quick deployment of solutions that assist agencies in their critical missions.
Louisiana Department of Corrections improves inmate education
Learn how the Louisiana Department of Corrections is improving inmate education and post-prison outcomes with a new online learning solution using Amazon Workspac
Intro to Justice and Public Safety for AWS
Discover how justice and public safety organizations are using the AWS cloud to improve emergency response, save lives, and prevent crim
Additional corrections cloud resources
Explore whitepapers, webinars, case studies, and more for corrections leaders.
FBI CJIS Security Policy updates help you control your criminal justice information
The modernized policy provides a path for agencies to eliminate access by cloud provider personnel to critical stored CJI by controlling encryption keys in a secure compute environmen
Improve inmate education, and post-prison outcomes
The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections wanted to improve inmate education, and post-prison outcomes, by implementing a new IT environment to support a better and more reliable online learning solution.With Amazon WorkSpaces and ATLO Software, inmates now have easy, secure access to educational and vocational training that can help them transition into careers upon release.
Our corrections experts
Corrections
Rob Turner
Rob Turner leads the Corrections sub vertical for the AWS state and local government justice and public safety team. He has extensive experience in public safety, including law enforcement, disaster response, tactical communications, cybersecurity, policy and legislative affairs. He works with AWS partners to ensure effective technology solutions are available to AWS correctional agency customers nationwide. Prior to joining AWS, Rob was the Chief of Investigations and Security Manager for the US Senate Commerce Committee. Before working in the Senate, he served over 21 years in the United States Marshals Service. Rob founded and led several national technical operations programs in the Marshal’s service throughout his career, and retired from law enforcement as the United States Marshal for Washington DC.