At the end of April, the UK was in the grip of a heatwave that broke records for the highest monthly temperature recorded. But that wasn’t the only record being set. On April 28th and 29th, NICE Public Safety & Justice welcomed the largest number of police forces ever recorded to its annual NICE Investigate NUG meeting, since first launching the User Group in 2019.The meeting took place in sunny Hinckley, Leicestershire, with 44 delegates representing 20 police forces from England and Wales. Participants included Project and IT Managers, Sergeants, Inspectors, Superintendents, and Assistant Chief Constables, as well as representatives from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Six new police forces participated in the NUG meeting for the first time, including Avon & Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Wiltshire, Dorset, Lincolnshire, and Guernsey Police. The annual two-day meeting provides a rare opportunity for forces and judicial partners to meet face-to-face and share their progress and results stemming from their innovative uses of NICE Investigate.This year’s event featured speakers from Cheshire Constabulary, and Thames Valley, Leicestershire, South Wales, North Wales, and Avon & Somerset Police, who all shared best practices, experiences and updates on their various digital evidence management initiatives.Day two focused on NICE Investigate’s development roadmap. Artificial Intelligence topped the discussion, with NICE highlighting powerful AI features currently under development in NICE Investigate. Attendees of the NUG were eager to learn how these AI capabilities could help them achieve significant time savings and efficiencies.NICE representatives Shilpa Mishra and Shelly Williams explained how AI could be utilised to assist police forces in finding, collecting, analysing, and summarising digital evidence more quickly. They also emphasised how AI could enhance casework by identifying evidence connections that might otherwise be overlooked in fast-paced investigations.The future chairmanship of the NUG was also discussed on day two. After six successful years, Assistant Chief Constable Jason Devonport of Lancashire Constabulary will be concluding his term as NUG Chairman. NICE would like to extend its gratitude to Jason for his invaluable leadership and dedication to the NUG. We look forward to welcoming a new Chair and a record number of forces when we reconvene in 2026.Responses to this year’s NUG have been overwhelmingly positive from both new and established member forces.Gemma Carter, Project Manager and Innovation Lead for Cheshire Constabulary, expressed her appreciation by saying, “Thank you so much for having Dan and me at the NUG - it was a really useful event!”Detective Sergeant Tony Underhill from North Wales Police who also presented, added, “I just wanted to say thanks for the last couple of days. I have learned a lot from the discussions.”Sergeant Steve Gilman of Guernsey Police remarked, “Thank you for the last couple of days. It was interesting and beneficial to gain a broader understanding of what the NICE Investigate NUG is discussing and working on. There’s a lot to think about, and it’s always valuable to get a new perspective to help us refocus on the tasks ahead. Thanks to you and the team for organising everything; the conference was great.”While the annual NUG meeting is an important date to mark on your calendar, it's essential to remember that progress in advancing Digital Evidence Management Systems (DEMs) continues throughout the year.NICE Investigate NUG sub-groups meet virtually on a regular basis to discuss a range of DEM-related topics, including business engagement, CCTV, storage, reporting, and evidence disclosure. An AI sub-group will be added in the near future.Are you a NEW NICE Investigate UK customer? Make sure you join our online NUG so you can ask questions of your peers, share best practices, and access materials from previous NUG events! To join, simply reach out to Jamie Wilson at jamie.wilson@nice.com.
