When Chief Ralph Southworth Jr. took the helm of the Schodack Police Department in January 2025, he inherited a familiar challenge for many small and mid-sized agencies: a large, diverse patrol area with limited staffing and uneven service coverage.  

Chief Southworth career includes more than two decades in the City of Troy (NY) Police Department 20 miles north of Schodack, where he retired as a Detective Sergeant.

The Schodack landscape is a significant change from Troy’s city streets. Spanning 63 square miles and more than 200 miles of roadway, the upstate New York town is a mix of state corridors, rural neighborhoods, commercial routes, and quiet residential streets. With as few as two officers per shift at times, ensuring equitable patrol coverage was never going to be solved by adding manpower alone. 

That reality is what makes Patrolfinder stand out to Chief Southworth—and why he sees it not as another piece of technology, but as a leadership tool. 

From “Figure Eights” to Intentional Patrol 

Before implementing Patrolfinder, Chief Southworth suspected what many chiefs intuitively know but struggle to measure: patrol patterns tend to default to main roads and familiar routes. Officers weren’t avoiding neighborhoods intentionally, but without visibility into coverage, those deeper residential areas were being underserved. 

“When I had with a trainee with me and I went into one of our neighborhoods, they were like, ‘Wow! I haven’t seen this before,’” Chief Southworth recounted. “Well, that’s a problem, because you should have, you know? I didn’t really think there was deep patrol getting into the neighborhoods like there should have been.” 

Patrolfinder quickly confirmed those suspicions by visualizing actual coverage patterns. Most patrol time was concentrated on arterial roads—a classic “figure eight mentality,” Chief Southworth said, which is common across policing. 

By putting coverage data front and center, Patrolfinder changed officer behavior almost immediately. Within a day of going live, the department had effectively covered the entire mapped patrol area. Within a week, Chief Southworth tightened his coverage expectations—from 24 hours to 12—confident that officers could meet the new standard without compromising call response. 

Accountability Without Micromanagement 

What resonates most with police leadership is how Patrolfinder balances accountability and autonomy. Chief Southworth does not use the platform to second-guess officers minute by minute. Instead, it establishes clear objectives and lets officers execute. 

In the past, he sent out an email to his department with a list of where to go and what to do.  

“Now it’s like in your face, so you know what you need to do,” the chief said, “and I’ve gotten no pushback on it.” 

Patrolfinder replaces vague directives and long emails with a live, shared operating picture. Officers see where attention is needed, supervisors see results, and expectations are clear without being punitive. 

This approach mirrors how many other departments use Patrolfinder: to standardize patrol expectations across shifts, provide objective documentation of service, and eliminate reliance on memory or word-of-mouth at shift change. For Schodack—where the agency is not even staffed 24/7—this continuity is especially valuable. 

Turning Community Complaints Into Targeted Action 

One of Chief Southworth’s most effective—and transferable—uses of Patrolfinder is tying it directly to community concerns. Speeding complaints, property checks, and business patrol requests are logged as “points of attention” within the system. Officers are directed not by generalized orders, but by data-backed priorities. 

Equally important, the chief uses Patrolfinder to verify complaints before deploying resources. Instead of responding to perceived problems, he identifies actual patterns and assigns patrol time accordingly. This allows him to provide residents with accurate feedback and demonstrate responsiveness grounded in facts—an approach many departments have adopted to strengthen trust and transparency. 

Engaged Officers, Visible Results 

Officer buy-in came quickly. Some officers describe Patrolfinder as turning patrol into a challenge—learning unfamiliar streets, clearing coverage gaps, and staying ahead of new attention areas. Chiefs from other agencies report similar outcomes: improved motivation, better geographic knowledge, and a renewed sense of purpose in proactive patrol. 

For Chief Southworth, the payoff extends beyond internal operations. His ultimate goal is a visibly present police department that serves every taxpayer—not just those living along main roads. Increased presence supports community policing, traffic safety, and long-term familiarity with neighborhoods, making officers more effective problem-solvers. 

A Leadership Tool for Any Size Department 

Perhaps most compelling for police leaders is Chief Southworth’s conclusion: if Patrolfinder works in a large city, a suburban town, and a rural community like Schodack, it can work anywhere. Its flexibility allows chiefs to start simply and expand over time, adapting the tool to their unique operational realities. 

“I think it’s a win,” the chief said. “I do want a visible police force. I think I’m going to get it now and I’m sure the town wants that too. I’m sure the residents want that too.” 

You can request a personalized demonstration with our team of experts by clicking here to learn what departments across the USA are finding.

Patrolfinder is a game changer for their community and officers.