The off-duty (extra-duty, secondary employment or overtime, as some call it) law enforcement space is a unique market where off-duty police officers typically act as independent contractors using city-owned property–uniform, badge, gun and even city police vehicle–to deploy a greater police presence in the community at retail establishments, music venues, sporting events, schools, hospitals, religious institutions, construction sites, etc. This increased police presence is funded by private enterprise. These private dollars create a force multiplier that benefits our communities. It is a public policy that, if done properly, can provide the best of all worlds to all constituents.
Today, this off-duty market is experiencing three major changes or paradigm shifts:
Historically, the law enforcement off-duty space has been a somewhat unknown, overlooked, stagnant space where law enforcement officers were viewed as making a few extra bucks while working secondary or off-duty jobs. The paradigm shift is that today’s U.S. off-duty market is now an exploding, $12 billion dollar growth market! With today’s understaffed police departments and the rise of “smash and grab” incidents, retailers are needing to directly hire licensed police officers to deter crime and make employees and customers feel safe. Further, concert venues and sporting events need to hire real police officers to keep their fans safe. Look no further than the tragic Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest country music festival to remind us how real the threats are at these venues. Further, our schools are needing officers on site, as evidenced by the Uvalde tragedy. Hospitals have their own pressing needs. And, look no further than Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church shooting in Houston to realize that every worship site, even one of the largest churches in America, is under threat. Finally, look at the Boston Marathon bombing or the recent Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Parade celebration to be reminded that events need significant police coverage. This off-duty market has real demand and is experiencing explosive growth, with the funding coming from private parties.
Historically, cities and law enforcement agencies have taken a hands-off or laissez-faire approach to their officers’ engagement in off-duty work or secondary employment. There was a fog that hid how jobs were assigned and staffed. However, with a typical major city’s off-duty program being approximately $25 million per year, these programs are getting more attention. Further, following various law enforcement incidents, including incidents involving misbehaving off-duty officers double dipping (working off-duty jobs while on-duty) or otherwise misbehaving, cities and departments need to build trust and show transparency and accountability to their communities. There is a major paradigm shift from hands-off, laissez-faire to hands-on with transparency into how jobs are staffed, assured compliance with department regulations and a high-standard of officer accountability. Cities and law enforcement agencies are expected to have oversight of their officers and off-duty programs with assurance jobs are staffed fairly and their officers are in compliance with their department regulations to both protect the community and officer wellness.
In the past, many off-duty programs consisted of paper-based scheduling with officers handed envelopes of cash at the end of a shift. Now, these programs are experiencing a paradigm shift from physical to digital–from paper to the cloud. Not only are coordinators digitally creating jobs that are posted pursuant to rules executed in the cloud but officers are reviewing, accepting, clocking-in and out of jobs entirely via their mobile phone. Invoices are then submitted and paid digitally with officers receiving payment into their bank account digitally at the end of a shift. There is a massive digital transformation underway in this rapidly growing market.
In other words, the off-duty market is undergoing an “Uberization” of the segment. Prior to Uber, the transportation-for-hire market was dominated by old-school taxi cabs. While private cars, especially black cars and limos, were widely available, hiring them was rather challenging, requiring advanced booking with clumsy pick-up or meet-up instructions. Uber’s technology transformed this space making it dramatically easier to engage for both the driver and rider. Further, pizza and meal delivery services have existed for decades. However, the Doordash and UberEats platforms made these services conveniently available on consumers’ mobile phones for more restaurants. Consumers showed they were willing to pay a premium for the convenience and superior experience. This same thing is happening in the off-duty space. RollKall’s cloud-based platform is making it easier for businesses in need of licensed police officers to secure and pay for these services.
RollKall is driving the digital transformation of the $12 billion off-duty law enforcement space with its leading off-duty job platform for law enforcement agencies, officers and businesses that need their services. RollKall is embracing the paradigm shifts in the space and working with over 2,000 agencies and over 59,000 officers.
Embrace the changes and join RollKall on this adventure. Start your shift at RollKall.