ICT

INNOVATION: The use of an evidence storage and sharing app rolled out across Hertfordshire Constabulary has seen positive outcomes more than double compared to the force average, with investigation times reduced and demand on digital forensic unit and data storage also cut; now more forces across England and Wales are looking at adopting the technology, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: By combining a suite of national innovations with its own local solutions, Suffolk Constabulary has transformed its contact management and response functions; Assistant Chief Constable Eamonn Bridger tells Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass how the force moved out of an HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services ‘inadequate’ public contact rating to no longer being assessed as a ‘cause for concern’ - all within 10 months.

INNOVATION: Police forces across England and Wales have been urged by Chief Constable Rob Carden, Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council Digital, Data and Technology Co-ordination Committee, to “embrace technology in a way we’ve never done before”, to ensure they can play their part in delivering the Government’s “very ambitious” Safer Streets Mission, as Policing Insight’s Keith Potter reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Ten years after a landmark report called for decisive police action on domestic abuse, Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) has risen by 37%, reaching what authorities now label “epidemic levels” across England and Wales. While underreporting remains a significant challenge, new technologies and initiatives—like embedded domestic abuse specialists and Digital Evidence Management systems (DEMs) —are being deployed to improve police responsiveness and prosecution outcomes.

INNOVATION: A Thames Valley Police trial of a mobile phone app-based tasking mechanism for hotspot policing has led to increased patrols, reduced costs and cuts in violent crime – and a scalable solution which researchers believe could be used for other policing activities, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Visit GPEC® digital, supported by Policing Insight as media partner, the special event focused on digitalization and electronics in the the areas of internal security, law enforcement and homeland defence.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Domestic abuse specialists will be installed in 999 control rooms as part of the introduction of Raneem’s Law. This has already been rolled out across five forces in England and Wales, and further guidance will follow this year. It forms part of the Government's ongoing mission to combat abuse and violence against women and girls. As well as strengthening the police’s response to domestic abuse, it aims to offer enhanced, long-term protection for all victims.

FEATURE: Recognising the threat posed by terrorist content online (TCO), the European Commission first presented legislation to tackle the problem in 2018, with the EU TCO Regulations coming into force in June 2022; now the work of three projects – set up to help hosting service providers (HSPs) meet the risk to European security – has reached fruition, offering HSPs a wealth of guidelines, training tools and other resources, as Policing Insight’s Andrew Staniforth reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Merseyside Police is leading the fight against serious and organised crime, with the support of the Chorus Intelligence Suite (CIS). The cutting-edge digital investigation platform has been instrumental in enabling Merseyside Police to break down drug supply chains, protect vulnerable individuals, and secure vital convictions against high-profile offenders.

INNOVATION: Avon and Somerset Police’s Dementia Safeguarding Scheme is using Bluetooth tags and GPS trackers to help those with dementia if they go missing – reducing the amount of police resources deployed on tracing vulnerable people and protecting loved ones – as scheme pioneer Inspector Stuart King told Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

INTERVIEW: In just over a year, the UK's Police National Computer is set to be replaced by the new Law Enforcement Data Service; Ian Weinfass spoke to those leading on the project for the Home Office and the police service about what the change will mean for officers, what else needs to happen, and the potential implications of not hitting the target date.

FEATURE: The continuing development of digital and multi-channel public contact is a key issue for policing across England and Wales; in the first in a new series of police technology webinars produced by PolicingTV, Digital Public Contact Programme SRO DCC Simon Megicks, NPCC National Contact Management lead ACC Catherine Akehurst, and Simon Hall, Chair of techUK’s Justice and Emergency Service Interoperability Forum, shared their views on the importance of closer working between forces, budget challenges, and the potential for more effective data sharing.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Call Detail Records (CDRs) offer a wealth of potential insights, but their analysis is hindered by several challenges. Traditional tools struggle to handle the massive volume and intricate structure of CDR datasets, often limited to static and linear data views. This makes it difficult to identify complex patterns, relationships, and anomalies. Furthermore, fragmented workflows and manual tasks slow down analysis and increase the risk of errors. To fully harness the value of CDR data, more advanced, integrated solutions are necessary to address these limitations and enable efficient, comprehensive analysis.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: As public services come under pressure and public expectations rise, volumes of contact are likely to increase across all channels. By operationalising digital contact, forces can avoid a contact crisis and take advantage of a more connected future.

WEBINAR PROMOTION: The Policing Tech Forum, in collaboration with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and techUK, are delighted to announce our inaugural series of webinars looking at the current and future direction of technology across the policing family.

ANALYSIS: Police in England and Wales have, for the first time, collected and published detailed information gleaned from crime reports about child sex abuse and exploitation (CSAE) carried out by networks or groups, in a bid to put resources in the right areas and challenge assumptions with data along the way, as Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Debbie Kettle discusses how collaboration with the third sector, emergency services and victims helped to build a system that will help organisations take an impactful approach to maintaining public safety and better manage care and support for victims of crime.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: With over a decade of military and cyber intelligence experience, including training alongside NATO, Iulian Timischi introduces the urgent need for a new model of intelligence analysis that can keep pace with our modern data-driven age.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Uncovering the role of social media in the Southport riots and how open-source intelligence (OSINT) can combat misinformation and violent calls to action.

INNOVATION: A new independent report shows that retail crime reporting platform Auror saved New Zealand Police nearly 170,000 hours of officer time over a 12-month period – but direct-to-police retail crime reporting systems are becoming more common all over the world, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: New research from the University of Liverpool working with three English police forces has highlighted that officers’ unmanageable workloads, insufficient training and lack of understanding of digitally enabled coercive control are leading to missed opportunities in investigating potential perpetrators and protecting victim-survivors, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE: Faced with digital evidence management challenges, South Yorkshire Police Force launched its Technology Enabled Change initiative to find a solution. The force initiated a competitive procurement process, and after lengthy vetting, selected NICE Investigate to help in their quest to digitally transform investigations and evidence management.

INNOVATION: New 360-degree camera technology is enabling jurors, lawyers and investigators to get a better, more immersive understanding of crime scenes, while also providing video tours with audio commentary to explain key locations of interest, as DC Simon Chamberlain explained to Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: Against the backdrop of the recent foiled terror plot to attack the Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, Policing Insight’s Andy Staniforth looks at the latest EU counter-terrorism project designed to strengthen the protection of public spaces from attacks and major violent incidents, and mitigate their impact.