Back in 2019, I had the pleasure of speaking to Merseyside Police about the work it was doing to transform how it handles digital evidence. Hearing how the force had shifted from a position whereby 90% of digital evidence needed for investigations couldn’t be accessed in a timely manner, to ingesting over 500,000 cases and 4.6 million searchable evidence items, was inspiring not only to me, but motivating to other forces as well.
Since the time Merseyside embarked on this pioneering experience with NiCE Investigate, changes have abounded. The UK has endured a pandemic, and transitioned through four Prime Ministers and three Ministers of State for Crime and Policing. In spite of the challenges and uncertainty, the pace of innovation by forces in England and Wales has proceeded undeterred. The fact that 18 UK forces have digitally transformed their evidence management during this short time period is a real success story.
Organizations including British Transport Police (BTP), Cleveland Police, Hampshire Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary, Leicestershire Police, Merseyside Police, Northamptonshire Police, North Wales Police, Nottinghamshire Police, North Yorkshire Police, Surrey Police, Sussex Police and Thames Valley Police, as well as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), have all led the way.
In April this year, we highlighted the scale of the progress many of these forces have made, when it was announced that NiCE Investigate was being used by 50,000 police officers and had contributed to four million investigations. And the pace of innovation is still accelerating, with more officers using NiCE Investigate every day. For example, when fully implemented at Nottinghamshire Police, NiCE Investigate will be rolled out to more than 3,200 officers and staff.
This would not be the case had other forces not blazed a trail. Alongside early-adopter Merseyside, British Transport Police (BTP) was one of the first forces to rollout NiCE Investigate, realizing significant benefits. CCTV is vital for crime investigations and BTP makes 50,000 requests to train operating companies each month for video. Using NiCE Investigate, 90 percent of the footage can now be received electronically. A similar initiative is being driven by Hampshire Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary and NorthamptonshirePolice, to encourage retailers to register their surveillance cameras, to streamline the process of sharing footage.
More and more forces are now also using NiCE Investigate to conduct public appeals. Through this process, forces have found it much easier to proactively engage with the public. As an example, Thames Valley Police recently issued public appeals requesting information and evidence in relation to an assault and another case involving a robbery.
Indeed, 2022 has been a year that has seen many forces mature in their use of digital evidence management technology, while witnessing others begin their journey.
What has been so rewarding is the willingness of forces to share their experiences, whether for case studies, or in NiCE User Group meetings. Furthermore, the results of their efforts are truly impressive, with Hampshire Constabulary projecting efficiency savings equating to £846k.
But digital transformation isn’t just about hours and money saved, as one attendee at our NiCE User Group meeting explained. One customer related that through its ease-of-use, NiCE Investigate is enabling a blind member of the force to do a job that would not otherwise be possible to do without the assistance of a support worker.
Job satisfaction can come in many forms, but when you hear how a solution is giving back precious time to frontline officers, improving the relationship between forces and the communities they serve, and aiding in the arrest, swifter prosecution and conviction of criminals, it instils a real sense of pride.
As we approach 2023, there is much work to be done if every force is to achieve the Policing Vision 2025. At NiCE, we are ready to help police forces rise to the challenge.
