BOLO Board is a social media app specifically designed with the LP/AP industry in mind. It functions as you would expect a social media app to allowing its users to connect and collaborate with each other, apart from the BOLO Alert form and the searchable database. BOLO’s (Be On the Look Out) is a collection of data from incidents as recorded by the users that describes a theft and the individual(s) that perpetrated the theft. When a BOLO form is completed and submitted it becomes an alert for other registered users in the local area. Users can set a range for how far out they want to receive the alert. Anywhere from 5 miles (which is the default) up to 100 miles. Almost all of the fields within the form are then part of a searchable database of BOLO’s.
This will be useful in fighting not only local shoplifting but also Organized Retail Crime due to the broad array of information and the fact that it is a nationwide app. Collaboration between colleagues across the US is possible through the app.
The features of BOLO Board are things that LP/AP’s are already doing. LP’s/AP’s use group texts to communicate as well as emails currently. They are limited to the people they know and the information that they give them. BOLO Board opens the exposure to other AP’s that they do not know and are located right down the street with their information.
Law enforcement will also benefit from the use of BOLO Board. With the information they obtain from the BOLO’s they can more quickly perform their background checks and have more needed information prior to arriving on scene. This will allow them to be better prepared for the interaction.