Control centre technology will improve police response times and accountability

Picture of police control room for Your Expert Witness storyNew technology for police control rooms has been developed by the communications and control arm of business services provider Capita. ControlWorks is a single solution for all police contact centre and control room operations that, it is claimed, can cut response times by combining relevant information from multiple sources.

It also enables police forces to manage all of their operations cost effectively from a central viewpoint – from resource planning and geographical mapping through to accessing and sharing information about case histories.

It will improve the experience of callers and ensure that officers with the right skills and capability are safely, quickly, and efficiently despatched to incidents with the information they need delivered to their secure mobile devices.

George Godliman, managing director of Capita’s communications and control solutions business, said: “The 21st-century control room is under significant pressure. Deep budget cuts require control room environments to transform and we need to knock down the boundaries between support services and the operational frontline.

“Asking police forces and call handlers to juggle multiple systems just doesn’t work in this fast-paced environment. They need to be able make informed decisions to get the right help to citizens as quickly and as safely as possible. The single solution will not only result in efficiency gains, but it will also open the door for a more collaborative emergency services sector.”

Helen Turnbull, Capita’s police market director, added: “There is no doubt that operational efficiency will always be an essential target for police forces, but the introduction of Police Crime Commissioners has focused even greater attention on improving customer service, too. The launch of ControlWorks heralds the first phase of Capita’s plans to enable police forces to deliver a customer experience that will rival the best in any industry. Police forces will now be in a position to better profile the people contacting control rooms and the incident they are calling about, resulting in a personalised service being delivered.”

The system will allow police forces to identify repeat and vulnerable callers automatically via the in-built customer relationship management system. Call times will be shorter by around a minute because the key, supporting  information will be automatically generated as soon as the call comes in, allowing a reduction in the despatch process of around 30 seconds because information about the location of available people with the relevant skills is instantly and directly accessible from the single platform.

Because police force and partner data will be unified, connected and instantly available, risk to officers and the public will be reduced. There will also be greater accountability via auditable logs and call handling scripts.