Met Police Says Tablets Save Officers One Hour Every Shift

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) claims the use of tablets by frontline officers is saving each one hour every shift and wants to extend a trial of the devices.

The pilot started last year and 500 staff are now using the devices, which can collect witness statements and digital signatures at the crime scene, while also allowing officers to view and update systems and databases in the field thanks to secure custom applications.

This means police officers do not have to return to the station to file paperwork and can spend more time on the streets. Officers have access to Vodafone’s 4G network so they can work wherever they are and without a Wi-Fi connection.

Tablet rollout

Phase one of the programme has predominantly involved the use of iPad Minis, but could eventually encompass other types of device as the MPS has no desire to become standardised on Apple products.

“We want officers out on the beat, not stuck in the station filling out paperwork or sat at a computer,” said Adrian Hutchinson, head of mobility planning for the MPS. “Working with Vodafone UK to deliver phase one of the project, we’ve already had a great response from officers who have used the devices, and we are confident that the project will help them to be more visible to the public and ultimately deliver a better service to Londoners.”

“It is fantastic to see the Met embracing the latest mobile technologies to their full potential. We know that technology can make a huge difference to frontline workers and ultimately to the vital service they deliver to citizens,” added Phil Mottram, enterprise director at Vodafone. “By partnering with organisations such as the MPS we can support them to identify the right technologies that will really make a difference in delivering greater efficiency while improving frontline policing.”

The initiative forms part of the £200 million ‘Total Technology Strategy’, which aims to make the Met more efficient, reduce crime and increase the public’s confidence by making officers more mobile.

The strategy outlines how the force can make better use of technology between 2014 and 2017 given that much of its IT budget was being spent on maintaining outdated equipment, some of which was from, the 1970s. During the 2012 London Olympics, the Met used command and control software from the 1980s to protect the Games.

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