Cambridgeshire Constabulary disrupts traditional approaches to Policing at Home Office exhibition
This post is by Black Marble Marketing Director Linda Hogg.
A Chief Constable’s singular vision, a constabulary’s commitment to technology and an innovative software company combined to create game-changing new software for Officers. Shown in public for the first time at the Home Office Security and Policing exhibition, the solution – built end-to-end with Microsoft technologies – created quite an impression.
The solution that is now tuServ was the result of a desire by Cambridgeshire Constabulary to allow Officers to be more productive in the field through resourceful use of mobile technology, removing the need for time-consuming trips to and from a Police Station. They approached Microsoft Partner Black Marble to realise their vision.
“I was convinced we could do something much cleverer than electronic forms,” said Robert Hogg, MD of Black Marble, “and to Cambridgeshire’s credit, they had the confidence in Black Marble to let us think about what that would look like.”
The two organisations then embarked on the tuServ journey together: Black Marble came up with a radical concept in response to Cambridgeshire’s needs and would create the software; the Constabulary agreed to take an agile approach to the solution’s development and provide real-world users and feedback to ensure the end result would benefit the Constabulary as a whole. The end result would be a product that could be offered to other forces.
tuServ has been developed in phases in order to allow rapid adoption within Cambridgeshire Constabulary, rather than waiting for the final, fully-featured product. This approach allowed Officers to gradually get to grips with the project, leaving them wanting more! Superintendent Andy Gipp is the Operational Officer responsible for tuServ and has championed this approach. “The response has been fantastic!” says Andy, “By giving them tuServ in phases, Officers are not overwhelmed by a new product, and can see the benefit to them. We’re really pleased with the enthusiasm they’ve shown, the feedback they give and the ways they are dreaming up to use tuServ to help them be better cops.”
The validation of that approach is in the response: with over a thousand Officers using tuServ since the first phase began, the feedback from Officers has been extremely supportive, plus they are keen for each new phase “I’ve seen mock-ups of it, and what it can do, and I really want that, desperately want that!”
The Constabulary is already reaping the benefits: initial estimates suggest half an hour per officer per day of time is being saved – that kind of efficiency benefit mounts up fast!
The feedback from visitors at the exhibition was overwhelmingly positive, with tuServ being an excellent example of what can be achieved with the strength of the Microsoft technology stack when combined with an innovative provider like Black Marble and a visionary customer like Cambridgeshire Constabulary.