Humberside Police Message: We’re going where you go…..

As of this month, you’re going to start seeing more of our officers out and about in the community, maybe in a coffee shop or perhaps parked up in a car, but rest assured, they will be working and it’s all part of the final roll out stage of an exciting new way forward, for a more efficient approach to policing across the Humberside force area.

We made the decision last year to invest in new laptops and mobile phones that would assist our officers in working more remotely, so they are more visible in our communities and accessible to you, the public, rather than being cooped up in a police station tied to a desk and computer, knee deep in paperwork. 

Superintendent Matt Peach leading the new initiative said: “The investment in this new technology is not only a great benefit to all officers and staff, but to the public as well who will start to see officers “out of the office” more, which also means they will be quicker to the scenes of incidents as they are already out.

“Our message to officers has been that unless you’re locking a suspect up, we don’t really want to see you in the station, we want to see you making the most of the new equipment and getting to know people in our communities.

“We want our officers to be out there in the community and not tied to a desk hidden from view. This could be in a local cafe while they’re having a coffee and working on their laptop, or grabbing a bite to eat through a drive thru and then working in their car, there is no need for them to go back to the police station.   

“This new initiative provides the perfect opportunity to take an innovative step forward in policing in the 21st century, making us much more efficient.”

The laptops provide all the key systems required to carry out all duties in an agile way by removing the need to dock devices, and include full access to all internal systems and the ability to file reports directly from a scene.

Data and images can be recorded as soon as an incident has been dealt with and information can be uploaded straight away from a crime scene, cutting out the need for written notes after every job that then need to be typed up back at the station.

Supt Peach continued: “Inputting notes and information straight into the system after an incident cuts out the travelling time to and from a station after every job to type up all this data, and is a much more efficient and productive use of time.

“Using the new equipment in public areas also provides the local community with a more visible policing presence, and whilst it may not be as a traditional ‘bobby on the beat’, our officers will be on duty and they will swiftly take action should any type of incident take place, being able to respond much faster with already being out in the area.

“This is something that wouldn’t be able to happen without the ability of agile working.

“I’m fully supportive of everyone remotely working away from the station and in the public eye, and I would encourage people, if you do see a ‘copper with a cuppa’, please go and say hello and have a chat.”