Built in the field.

In March 2026, we approached Chief Lynn Gay about working with Dunn Police Department to explore how software could better support officers and investigators. We did not arrive with a predetermined product. Our goal was to spend time with the department, understand how the work was actually being done, and identify where better technology could make a meaningful difference.

With Chief Gay’s support, our team spent several weeks working alongside members of the department. We joined ride-alongs, observed investigative workflows, spoke directly with personnel, and looked closely at where existing processes created unnecessary friction.

One problem stood out: drafting search warrants and court orders. Investigators were building complex legal documents through a process that was manual, repetitive, and unstructured — information gathered from different sources, organized by hand, transferred into supporting forms, and prepared for judicial review, much of it dependent on Word documents and templates developed individually over time.

We brought that problem back to Chief Gay and began exploring what a better system could look like. Together, we worked through how technology could support investigators without replacing the judgment and accountability the work requires. The objective was simple: give investigators better infrastructure for organizing their work and preparing complete, consistent legal process.

Dunn Police Department became BEAMRaiL’s first design partner. As we built, members of the Criminal Investigations Division reviewed working versions of the platform, pushed back on our assumptions, and tested the direction we were taking. Their feedback shaped how investigators organize facts, move information between documents, complete supporting forms, and prepare requests for judicial review.

Chief Gay’s investigative experience from his career with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation grounded the platform in the realities of complex investigations. His perspective reinforced a principle that continues to guide BEAMRaiL: technology should strengthen an investigator’s judgment and accountability, not attempt to replace either one.

The department opened its doors, shared real operational challenges, and worked directly with our team. What began as field discovery in Dunn became a platform built to streamline how law enforcement agencies prepare, review, and manage investigative documents.