How police are using cutting-edge technology to boost fight against crime

The days of notepads and pens are a thing of the past for Lancashire’s police officers – these days they have an array of state-of the technology at their disposal to make to make evidence gathering quicker and more accurate.

This even extends to the place that Blackpool’s police call home – their ultra-modern base at Gerry Richardson Way is light years from their old station at Bonny Street, which closed in 2018.

In fact Lancashire Constabulary now leads the way globally when it comes to the adoption and use of these new crime-fighting tools.

The force has just extended its contract for the digital policing app Pronto until 2029, as it continues to push the boundaries of cutting edge hardware.

Pronto allows officers to access records and file reports from anywhere, replacing those traditional police notebooks. And in the past, officers using old technology would have to return to the station to download evidence using USB sticks and discs. Those days are over.

The force has additionally purchased 1,750 new body cameras to improve evidence collection. The technologies from Motorola Solutions provide critical information to officers to support faster, more effective policing while enabling more time for officers to engage with their communities.

Lancashire force a global leader

Lancashire Constabulary was one of the first forces globally to adopt Pronto. A recent survey of Lancashire’s police officers highlights the value of Pronto in driving operational efficiency, with the vast majority of officers evaluating the app as ‘highly valuable’ and ‘easy-to-use.’

The app is designed to enable officers to easily and reliably record and access information without the need to return to the police station, including using voice commands to access records and file reports safely from their vehicles without taking their eyes off the road.

Chris Hardy, Chief Superintendent at Lancashire Constabulary, said: “Embracing innovation is central to how we serve our communities. By investing in technology like Pronto and body camera solutions, we are enabling our teams to work more safely and effectively.

“Our frontline officers consistently report a preference for Pronto, praising its ease of use and reliability. We also know that when data is entered into our systems through Motorola Solutions’ digital policing app, it has integrity and helps to reduce operational challenges such as duplicate records.

“We are moving towards channelling all data collation through Pronto in the future, continuing to modernise our approach to policing to help make our community safer.”

Capturing stronger evidence

The majority of front-line officers in the survey also credit body cameras for capturing stronger evidence and giving officers better protection against threats. The force is soon upgrading its Motorola Solutions VB400 body cameras with the company’s V500 body cameras to give their control rooms live-streaming visibility of incidents as they unfold.

These technological advances have also extended to police vehicles. The Constabulary has also deployed Motorola Solutions’ M500 in-car video system across its fleet of police vehicles.

Fergus Mayne, U.K. and Ireland country manager at Motorola Solutions, said: “Real-time video is transforming the way police forces gather information, respond to incidents and create records with rich, objective evidence.

“Lancashire’s digital transformation has been hugely impressive, connecting the front lines with control rooms and setting a new standard for police forces across the country.”

Both the V500 and M500 integrate seamlessly with Pronto and are supported by VideoManager, Motorola Solutions’ evidence management software that helps ensure the secure handling, storage and sharing of evidence.

The Constabulary’s investments include the use of another advanced application , Airwave, for highly reliable and trusted voice communications, to help shorten response times, improve decision making and enhance safety for all.

What do officers themselves say?

PC Ella Thornton, a Blackpool-based Police Road Unit officer said: “In road pursuits, the quality of the footage from the cameras in our cars is now so powerful as evidence in court. With dangerous drivers, we can use it to identify cars involved in offences and that information can be used so quickly too.”

Her colleague, PC Dan Brown, with 17 years of policing behind him, said: “It means you can do the job faster and so you can be much more productive with the time you’ve got.

“With the body cams and the dash cams we now use, that evidence is so good that people really can’t challenge the evidence. It’s there, crystal clear for them to see it with their own eyes. And the speed with which we can get that evidence across is amazing. It really is making a huge difference.”