The government has pumped £80m intomobile devices for police forces, and officers can
expect an increasing proportion of their workload to be dependent
on them.
There is a raft of problems for police forces to iron out, but
the clear benefits and relatively low cost mean it is one
initiative that is not likely to disappear.
"Officers who are joining now are going to have to use these,"
says Jim Hitch, an inspector at Bedfordshire Police. "They can
start now, or they can play catch up. But in five to 10 years time,
they will have to use them. At some point there will be no
option."
Officers use Blackberries and other devices to access systems
like the Police National Computer, enabling them to make checks on
people and fill in paperwork without having to return to the
office. Bedfordshire Police found a trial of the devices cut the
amount of time officers spend at the station by 20%, meaning they
had more time for "on the beat" policing.
Mobile technology has been rolled out to most police forces in
the UK. Problems faced by forces include interoperability with
highly secure police systems, and some rural forces have to contend
with less-than-perfect mobile network coverage. The biggest
obstacle though is a cultural one - convincing 15% to 20% of each
force that mobility is a good idea.
"It is an ongoing management issue," says Hitch. "The trouble is
that the people you need to get to don't come to you for advice. So
we have been targeting people, approaching officers whose devices
have not been used. It is a question of winning hearts and minds,
rather than waving a big stick and making people do it."
The devices cost around £270 per officer per year, but save time
and money by freeing up control room operators, who no longer need
to run system checks because officers can do it themselves.
The National Police Improvement Agency says it is looking at the
potential role of mobile technology in general emergency response.
Police, fire and ambulance crews already co-ordinate using the
Airwave radio network, and Gary Cairns, mobile information
programme manager at the NPIA, says its Future Communication
Programme is looking at possible further uses for mobile
devices.
Former shadow home secretary David Davies said at a roundtable
on the issue, organised by Blackberry manufacturer
RIM, that a Conservative government would be likely to continue
to support the use of mobile technology in policing. "We are
looking at cuts in public spending, but if anyone can make a
business case showing a particular device or strategy will save
money in the long term, it would have a very good chance of being
taken up. Personally I think there is a good business case
here."
But IT departments in individual forces might not get to be that
involved - there is plenty of scope for innovative new uses of the
devices, but much of the application building will be done by third
party companies. Hitch said, "We are a small force, so we are
relying on third parties to create applications. They are
experienced at it, and there is a financial imperative for them to
do it well."