More than 3,000 officers in Surrey and Sussex are using specialist mobile technology to improve frontline policing and reporting.
Airwave Solutions, in partnership with O2, is behind the project which enables 1,250 officers at Surrey Police and 1,750 at Sussex Police to replace paper-based activities with intuitive digital forms on mobile devices.
Officers have been saved up to two hours per shift as a result, while the modernisation of processes has saved Surrey Police £7 million.
The new extended regional deployment of the Pronto e-notebook and suite of software applications follows a successful six-year partnership with Surrey Police.
Pronto is a complete digital replacement for an officer’s paper notebook, operational processes and forms. It provides remote, mobile access to all key policing systems, ensuring officers can capture, reuse and validate information on the frontline while reducing back office bureaucracy and inefficiency.
Before Pronto, a single activity such as writing out a ticket would take back-office staff over four minutes to transfer paper-based notes onto a force’s system – now that process takes seconds as all data captured on devices is synchronised automatically.
“The deployment of Pronto has meant we’ve been able to move officers away from desks and back onto the frontline, the best place to pursue offenders and detect crime, protect vulnerable people, and prevent crime and disorder,” said Inspector Shane Baker at Sussex Police.
“Technology has helped us become more accessible and visible to the public we serve and it is playing an increasingly vital role in our mission to make the region as safe as it can possibly be.”
The new regional deployment brings the total number of forces using Pronto to 16 – 33 per cent of all forces in the UK.
Last year a total of £23 million in grants was allocated to improve policing through digital initiatives.