CASE STUDY Intel® Core™ i5 ProcessorMobile Computing and CollaborationGovernment/Public Sector

Community-centric Policing

Covering 3,400km2 in the South West of England, the county of Wiltshire is home to 684,000people and contains the historic city of Salisbury as well as the UNESCO World Heritage site ofStonehenge and Avebury. In a predominantly rural region, Wiltshire Council is committed toincreasing staff mobility by providing access to technology that doesn’t tie employees to theirdesks. For the county’s police force, this means keeping officers immersed in the community,providing a visible police presence while enabling collaboration and efficient working practices.The council and the police force are working together to demonstrate the transformative effectthat technology innovation can have on local government and policing.

Challenges• Boost visibility. Enable officers to spend more time out in the community and less in the station

• Increase connectivity. Provide officers with access to all mission-critical systems, even whenthey are on the move

• Cross-organizational collaboration. Create stronger alignment between police and otherCouncil departments

Solutions • Mobile computing. Give officers and back-office staff members Dell* laptops and 2 in 1 devicespowered by Intel® Core™ i5 processors

• Connected anywhere. Each device is equipped with 3G connectivity and access to all systems

• Increased efficiencies. Digital signature pads can be used with the devices to enable citizenstatements to be taken and submitted on the spot

Impact • Greater efficiency.Officers save time by using their downtime during shifts to complete paper-work and carry out research in the field

• Stronger collaboration. Teams within the police force and across Council departments canwork together more effectively by sharing information or holding meetings online

• More visible. Citizens have commented positively on the more visible police presence

Wiltshire Police officers use Intel® technology-powered devices to escape their desks and workamong the community

POLICE

WILTSHIRE

“We’re very proud of this project and the benefits it’s bringing to thecitizens of Wiltshire. Over time, we’ll be looking at new technologies,starting with Intel® RealSense™ technology, to identify more oppor-tunities to deliver on our commitment to community-centric policing.”

Jon AshworthStrategic Technical Lead,Wiltshire Police

Creating connections for pop-uppolicing The officers and staff of Wiltshire Police are nostrangers to the advantages technology canbring to the workday routine. For example, theyfrequently use virtual collaboration softwaresuch as Microsoft Lync* to hold meetings withcolleagues at different sites. However, their useof such solutions, and their ability to accessmission-critical systems, has been hamperedas employees needed to be in the office andin front of a desktop PC to use them. With in-creasing demand for a visible police presencein the community, being tied to their desks inthis way was no longer an option.

The police force has given officers and back-office staff access to Dell laptops and 2 in 1devices, all powered by Intel Core i5 processors.Council employees were also equipped withthe same devices, creating consistency acrossboth organizations and laying the foundationsfor simpler collaboration. In a recent survey1,73 percent of the officers issued with one ofthe devices said they used it every day whileout in the field.

The devices, once installed in a charging dockin each police vehicle, provide officers withaccess to every system they need to do theirjobs – from NICHE*, the core police recordsmanagement system, to the Storm* command-and-control platform, through to Lync and theforce’s HR and appraisal software. 3G connec-tivity means officers can use these essentialtools anywhere, eliminating the need to returnto the station to join meetings, check recordsor file updates on a case. Now they can log infrom the passenger seat of a patrol car, thelocal library, or a domestic address. They caneven create a pop-up police station in a coffeeshop or town square and work from there. Onedetective constable found this remote connec-tivity particularly useful when he and somecolleagues attended the trial of suspects involvedin a long-running investigation. “The ability toaccess all the files for the entire investigationwhile at court proved to be invaluable,” he said.“A great deal of the information, especially thefine details that come out only when in court,could be confirmed direct from the case files.Like so many of our operations, a number ofmonths had passed from the strike day, so

having direct access was very beneficial. It alsomeant that we didn’t have to transport numer-ous paper files to court with the associatedissues of security and storage, nor did we needa colleague at the end of the phone in the of-fice attempting to access files for us. It meantwe had immediate, secure and accurate accessat a touch of a button.”

Security is a priority for the police force. Officersfrequently need to access or share sensitive orconfidential information, which must be storedsafely. The introduction of the devices meansall records can now be fully digitized and en-crypted, so filing cabinets filled with paper filesthat can be lost through fire or theft are nolonger needed. As the systems and applicationsaccessed through the devices are all cloud-based,no data is stored on the devices themselves,which are Microsoft Direct Access* CESG-ap-proved, and can be disabled remotely if theyare lost or stolen. As a result, officers no longerhave to worry about mislaying files while theyare out of the office.

Working smarter within the communityWith greater mobility and security, the officershave also found they are able to work muchmore efficiently than before. Having access toall systems all the time means they can makebetter use of their downtime to carry out ad-ministrative tasks and complete work quicker.One inspector reported that he has been ableto save about 10 hours per week, while anothersaid: “I’m able to set up the device in my carand work without returning to the office. Forlarge jobs, I can call up all the information I needand conduct enquiries without having to wastethe command-and-control team’s time.”

The devices also enable officers to share infor-mation in a variety of formats much more quicklyand accurately than before. For example, adetective constable was reviewing some CCTVfootage for a clear image of a suspect. With hisnew device, he was able to freeze the images,cut out the image he needed, and email it tohimself. He said: “On the face of it, this wouldappear to be a simple task. But previously wehad to print screen and paste the whole screenimage into a Microsoft Word* document, then

County police force empowers officers to work fromwithin the community using Intel® technology-powered devices

“Gone are the days when apolice surveillance team outin the field was unable to keep

up with their other cases.The agile, mobile solution

we have in place now meansthere’s minimal downtime

for our staff.”

Kier PritchardAssistant Chief Constable,

Wiltshire Police

Lessons Learned Introducing transformative technology isa priority for many government organiza-tions. Wiltshire Police and Wiltshire Coun-cil realized that the technology alone is notenough though, and took proactive stepsto monitor usage models and gather feed-back from the officers in the field. It wasas a result of this user input that enhance-ments – such as the addition of 3G connec-tivity and digital signature pads – wereadded to the devices, ensuring they fit withhow the officers want to use them.

crop the image. Even this did not always work.And there have been occasions where officershave had to physically drive a disc to head-quarters to get an image processed. The simpleability to cut images from stills and get themcirculated will save significant time and money.”

The devices have helped keep officers out inthe field in emergency situations as well. “I wasaway from the station when a report came inof a domestic assault and a male who had ac-cess to firearms,” said a tri-force sergeant. “I wasable to use my tablet to see where my resourceswere and to contact colleagues to assist. With-out the tablet, I would have needed to go to astation.”

Meanwhile, other teams were able to boostefficiency by adding accessories. For example,a number of officers have used their devicesto capture witness or victim statements andthen add a digital signature pad to allow thestatement to be signed and filed immediately.“Previously, if someone had experienced orwitnessed a crime, the officer would go to thescene to take down their statement by hand,”explained Jon Ashworth, senior strategic tech-nical lead at Wiltshire Police. “He or she wouldthen need to travel back to the station to typeit up, and then go back to the person who hadprovided the statement to get them to sign it.They would then have to go back to the stationagain with the signed document to scan it andupload it to NICHE. Now, they can put the state-ment straight into the system using their lap-top, and then just get the victim or witness tosign it then and there using the digital pad. Inthis way, the officer creates, uploads and savesa signed, legally permissible document in anhour rather than taking most of the day. Thisis great for the officer, but also creates a muchfaster and less stressful experience for theperson giving the statement.”

Fostering a collaborative cultureThe officers using the devices have found theyenhance teamwork as well as supporting indi-vidual tasks. Using Bluetooth* headsets, theyare able to hold calls over Microsoft Lync whileon the road, enabling them to keep in touchwith colleagues in the office and stay up to date

on developments in current cases. “During onelive enquiry, we were executing a warrant ona cannabis factory and I was able to Lync withmy colleague in the office to have a real-timeconversation,” said one detective sergeant (DS)in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).“In a major enquiry, the ability to share liveimages from a crime scene can be invaluable.”

At the same time, team leaders have found theyno longer need to ask everyone to be in thesame office for meetings. A team leader in thespecialist crime department said: “This hasdramatically reduced travel times. It has alsohelped us reduce paper use, as agendas can beshared electronically. The video facility allowsthe meetings to be far more personable thana conference call. It allows more face-to-facecontact without having to be in the same room,which improves relationships.”

Officers can also use the devices to call in ex-pert advice when needed. For example, thesame CID DS was called to investigate somebones being uncovered in a household garden.When he called the station to request supportfrom a forensic archaeologist, he was told shewas out of the country working on a case. In-stead of waiting for her to return to the UK dayslater, the DS was able to email her some imagesdirectly from the scene and receive her expertopinion within hours. “This meant that insteadof having to consider calling out staff for cor-dons and scene preservation, I could make aninformed decision in quick time,” he explained.The expert was able to quickly identify the bonesas animal and therefore save the significantcost that can be associated with closing off asuspected crime scene.

The devices offer huge potential for collabora-tion. Ashworth and his team are already inves-tigating the possibility of using the universalsystem access and always-on connectivity toenable officers to work more closely with councilemployees and colleagues within other organ-izations such as social care or the fire service.“We have access to a lot of data, and so do theseother organizations,” Ashworth said. “By com-bining our insights, we can build a single viewof the customer for individuals within the com-munity, which would help us provide citizenswith a richer, more cohesive service.”

Enhancing the working day“When we deployed the devices, we felt it wasimportant to let the officers decide how theywanted to use them,” said Ashworth. “Rather thanissue strict schedules telling them when theyshould be at the station and where they shoulduse the devices, we asked them to set their ownpriorities. We wanted to challenge the traditionalpolice culture of dropping into a crime sceneand then going back to the station. Instead wewanted to encourage policing from within thecommunity itself.” As a result, 96 percent ofofficers reported in a recent internal survey thatthe devices have improved their way of working.

The specialist crime department team leaderexplained another benefit to his officers’ worklife: “I have a number of part-time staff in oneof my teams. They would like to work full timebut have responsibilities that mean they can-not commit to being in a police station for theirwhole shift. As a result, they work reduced hours,which has a negative impact on them and theorganization. We are exploring the opportuni-ties to use laptops to ensure they can work fulltime while allowing them the flexibility to fittheir working day around their other respon-sibilities. This has a financial benefit to themand allows us to ensure work volumes are equallymaintained and the service receives improvedvalue for money from them.” Another officer,currently on a recuperative plan and unable

1 Internal survey commissioned and conducted by IT team at Wiltshire Police

2 http://www.wiltshiretimes.co.uk/news/11695558.Police_visibility_up__crime_down_in_Trowbridge/

Intel technologies’ features and benefits depend on system configuration and may require enabled hardware, software or service activation. Performance varies depending on system configuration.No computer system can be absolutely secure. Check with your system manufacturer or retailer or learn more at http://www.intel.com

Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core, and Intel RealSense are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

© 2015, Intel Corporation 0515/JNW/RLC/XX/PDF 332472-001EN

to work in the office, added: “The laptop hasallowed me to have a role within my departmentwhere I can still perform useful tasks. It hasgiven me the option to be able to work at homeor in the office, without the pressure associatedwith an office environment. This has helpedme continue to work without needing to resortto sick leave.”

Kier Pritchard, assistant chief constable atWiltshire Police, sees this flexible workingpattern as important to maintaining morale andretaining talent. “Obviously we need to keepup a highly visible policing presence within thecommunity, but we want to offer our staff agood work-life balance. With this in mind, andfollowing the success of the devices being is-sued to cars for patrol, we’ve now decided topersonally issue laptops to more than 2,000staff and officers, truly mobilizing the force aswe continue to innovate and use technologyto work even smarter. This means they can fitin their paperwork and admin tasks aroundhome commitments. Many also really like beingable to catch up on case updates before comingin for a shift.”

Visible policing achievedLike Ashworth, the team involved in the proj-ect at Wiltshire Council have been pleasedwith the results. Julie Anderson-Hill, head of

transformational change at Wiltshire Council,said: “People have asked us, ‘Where have yougot all these extra police officers from?’ Wehaven’t. What we’ve done is enabled them touse tablets and laptops in a way that’s takingtheir business out into their local communities.”

The officers themselves have noticed the in-creased opportunities to work among the publicas well, with 78 percent of them reporting theirtime spent away from the station has increasedsince receiving a device. Crime statistics in thearea have dropped in the same period, withantisocial behavior in the town of Trowbridgedown by 15.8 percent, domestic burglaries cutby 34.1 percent, and vehicle crime down by33 percent2.

“I speak to colleagues in other police forces andthey’ve been impressed with the innovativeapproach we’ve taken and the results we’veachieved,” said Ashworth. “We’re very proudof this project and the benefits it’s bringing tothe citizens of Wiltshire. Over time, we’ll belooking at new technologies, starting with Intel®RealSense™ technology, to identify more op-portunities to deliver on our commitment tocommunity-centric policing.”

Pritchard adds: “We’ve gone from being in thedark ages, technologically speaking, to nowbeing at the forefront of innovation and theenvy of many colleagues in police forces upand down the country. We’re already planning

next steps, and will be making the solution cen-tral to our new policing strategy. With the mo-bility and agility it delivers, we’ll be able toremove more layers of bureaucracy for citizensand further improve the service we offer, allat an affordable cost.”

Find the solution that’s right for your organization.View success stories from your peers, learn moreabout tablets for businessand 2 in 1s for business,and check out the IT Center, Intel’s resource forthe IT Industry.