Police force spends £25m on switch to technology-led crime-fighting

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jul/21/west-midlands-police-technology-led-crime-fighting

Version 0 of 1.

One of Britain's largest police forces is to pay a private firm £25m in an attempt to radically reform the way it fights crime, switching from officers "randomly" walking a beat to a greater reliance on technology-led attempts to prevent and solve offences.

West Midlands police's chief constable, Chris Sims, defended the deal, saying budget cuts meant the way officers operated needed to be torn up, hailing the prospective changes as "the most radical transformation of policing that there has ever been".

Sims said the deal with Accenture would save much more money than it cost, with the firm's fees being tied to its recommended reforms saving money and boosting the force's performance.

The force has already cut its budget by £100m and must find £120m more cuts in the next five years, meaning at least another 10% reduction in officer numbers.

Sims said: "We're going to be less reliant on manpower, therefore we have got to rely more on better technology if we still want to improve policing and deliver it for less cost."

The hope is technology will cut the time officers spend in offices doing paperwork and allow them to do more while on the frontline. Supporters hope it will boost the intelligence available to police chiefs to better predict hotspots of crime and antisocial behaviour.

As well as saving money the tie-up aims to help officers cope with changes in society driven by the wider use of technology and the subsequent changes in people's behaviour.

Sims said crime fighting used to be based on policing public spaces such as streets and tackling disorder, but now there were differing demands, particularly preventing and detecting crimes committed online, in people's homes.

Some traditional police activities may end, said Sims. "The notion of the random patrol is not going to stand the test of time."

Instead better intelligence and technology can place patrols in areas where they are most needed.

It is hoped the deal will allow police to make greater use of social media to detect and prevent crime, and to let the public report concerns and interact with officers.