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Making police officers’ jobs easier was at the heart of the Vision 2020 digital programme, Giles york, Chief Constable of Sussex Police, told conference.
But, during The vision 2020 – Developing Specialist and Digital Capabilities session, opened by Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, he said the long-term aim to move evidence to a digital process is a highly complex national issue.
“We currently try to second guess what’s going to be needed when we’re building case files for the CPS but that has to change as we move into the digital process. That move isn’t simple. We are working across great complexities and digital case file transfer for some forces means brown envelopes being passed around,” he said.
“The police and the public can catch digital evidence in the first instance so we need to be able to investigate it and pass it on. Following the Shoreham air crash we received around 700 pieces of digital media. We had no control over their formats so we know we can’t always control how we receive digital evidence. But we can control our own processes.”
Giles also told officers the criminal justice system was investing very heavily in the development of digital case files in order to develop a common platform across the CPS.
“The CJS have a vision of all agencies working together but I still think we have a fractured landscape. We are trying to pull together what is practical and we have your interest at heart; we are trying to make your job easier and more straightforward, he said.
“Chief constables have signed up to being able to bear the brunt of accepting anything
but need to commit to sharing it in one way, a bit like digital loo roll where you fill all the details in at the top and then that information is automatically filled in for you. Then at the end you hit a button that says ‘send case file’.”
Former West Midlands Police Chief Chris Sims, now working on the NPCC Specialist Capabilities Programme, also addressed conference, saying there are ‘genuinely exciting opportunities’ for the police service.
“essentially this programme is about something Steve White talked about earlier - reform that delivers better integration in policing. We need to re-think how critical specialist capabilities can be delivered to the wider policing family because I look forward and recognise that the current 43 force structure is not going to be fit for purpose in terms of delivering that specialist capability,” he explained.
“Have we got the balance between conventional surveillance with all the technological opportunities that exist? My hunch is that we haven’t.”
Other guests during the session were Sergeant Nicholas Bonnichon, City of London Police, and Stephen Webb, Home Office director of law enforcement programmes, who said a new mobile finger print reader system, which will improve current results by up to 20 per cent, would be in use by the middle of 2017.
The vision 2020 findings will be presented to the NPCC and PCCs in October this year.
Giles concluded: “No more paper. Instead, digital capture and digital recognition.”
Giles York, Chief Constable of Sussex Police.
OURREPsAYs
“This was interesting, relevant and
gave a good view of how technology does, and will continue to, assist police forces across the country. It is also beneficial to defence solicitors, prosecution and juries who can actually view what happened rather than just relying on written statements and photographs. The only negative from the session was that no-one discussed the cost of the technology.
“Sara Thornton said we need to learn from the Civil Aviation Authority and how they improve something when it goes wrong to make it safer, better. The police still have a blame culture. Sgt Nicholas Bonnichon’s presentation was good, showing the benefits of technology in identifying driving offences , vehicles etc and the speed at which FPNs can be issued without the need for paperwork.
“Giles York was the best speaker of the group. He delivered his speech with humour and passion. He stressed the importance of joined up thinking between the 43 forces of England and Wales when embracing new technology and the importance of information sharing. His tagline was capture, store and share. I will take back to Force the message that we need to embrace technology when it’s introduced but that we must voice concerns if something is not fit for purpose.
Stephen Bozward
2020 vision - developing specialist capabilities