This in from the Police, in their own words. Ed
Hampshire Constabulary is launching a new computer application which will revolutionise the way police officers gather evidence from witnesses.
The Smartform app follows an NPIA-sponsored pilot project to enable police officers to spend more time on the beat by using digital technology to take witness statements.
The Electronic Witness Statement (EWS) system, developed in association with Airpoint Ltd, allows first accounts to be recorded directly onto the incident record which once inputted can be annotated but not changed, maintaining the evidential integrity of the statement.
Recorded electronically
Witnesses, including police officers, can then sign their statement using the terminal’s touch-screen at which point the time and date is recorded electronically.
The pilot, launched in Gosport in October 2011, saved 160 hours of police time in Hampshire within three months and is now being rolled out for full-time use in Havant, Waterlooville and Park Gate too.
In addition, 370 touch-screen terminals will be issued to the constabulary’s Public Protection Department, Major Investigation Teams, Area and district CID teams, custody investigation teams and the Professional Standards Department.
8,500 statements per month
Approximately 8,500 statements are taken by Hampshire police officers every month, 50 per cent of which are handwritten.
This means officers must then return to their stations to scan statements in order to record them on the force’s records management system.
Taking witness statements electronically during the pilot enabled officers to complete the paperwork an estimated 15 minutes quicker on average. It also enabled officers to send them back to force in less than a minute without having to return to the police station.
No need to retype statements for court
Staff will also no longer be required to retype statements for court; court files can be prepared and provided to the Crown Prosecution Service digitally, saving considerable paper and time.
Chief inspector Cleave Faulkner, Hampshire Constabulary’s mobile information lead, said: “This new technology completely changes our processes; reducing unnecessary bureaucracy, preventing paper wastage and most importantly keeping our officers out on the streets where the public wants them.”
“Until now officers have also relied on wireless internet access to use their terminals meaning the machines can become difficult to use in very rural areas. With EWS officers can work offline and when they return to wireless coverage, statements are automatically uploaded to the system.
“It’s a fantastic step for policing, one that we are very proud to be launching here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, allowing statement taking to become a clearer, more accurate, standardised process.”
Here by December
The EWS Smartform app will be at work across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight by the end of December and may eventually be used for other processes requiring evidential documentation such as interviews, legal authorisation for premises searches and has the potential to be used in court for warrant applications.
Ch Insp Faulkner said: “It’s important that policing moves with the times and that we constantly look at how we can do our job better.
“The EWS Smartform makes the whole statement-gathering process more efficient and cost-effective at the touch of a button while supporting the national move to a streamlined Criminal Justice Process.”
