Industry spotlight

‘Intelligent automation’ for road safety

Lincolnshire Police is automating its road safety and traffic enforcement communications.

By replacing manual, print-based processes with a single, automated workflow, the technology from Quadient is helping Lincolnshire Police to:

• Free operational capacity equivalent to four employees each month, giving teams more time to focus on road safety enforcement;
• Ensure correspondence is issued accurately, consistently and on time; and
• Process cases more efficiently, reducing the risk of delays or missed prosecution opportunities

The force is also piloting robotic process automation, machine learning and agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to automate parts of prosecution file preparation, while keeping operational decisions under human oversight.

Previously, Lincolnshire Police relied on manual, print-based processes for road safety communications. As the print infrastructure approached end of life, the force sought a more efficient and resilient solution to manage increasing communication volumes while maintaining compliance and service continuity. Through close collaboration with Quadient, the project moved from agreement in May 2026 to live operation by July 2026.

The new automated solution enables Lincolnshire Police to manage road safety and prosecution communications through a single, governed workflow. Automating correspondence preparation and delivery across physical and digital channels has improved process consistency, enhanced auditability, and removed the need for internal printing, while maintaining evidential and statutory requirements.

Since implementation, the force has freed the equivalent operational capacity of four employees a month, allowing staff to focus on higher-value activities that support road safety and enforcement. Transitioning from print-based processes has also freed office space previously used for printing. Automating administrative tasks enables Lincolnshire Police to prepare prosecution files more efficiently, make better use of court capacity, and reduce the risk of delayed or lost prosecution opportunities.

Following the initial implementation, Lincolnshire Police is piloting the next phase of the programme to automate parts of prosecution file preparation using robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning, and agentic AI. This approach aims to reduce manual handling, speed up case preparation, and use court capacity more efficiently, while ensuring operational decisions remain under appropriate human oversight.

The Traffic Process Unit Manager at Lincolnshire Police said: “Modernising our communications has enabled us to build a more resilient and efficient operation that supports our road safety objectives. By reducing administrative complexity, our teams can focus more of their time on activities that contribute directly to safer roads and better outcomes for the communities we serve.”

By integrating communications automation with emerging AI-driven technologies, Lincolnshire Police said it is building a scalable foundation for future digital transformation, adding: “The programme demonstrates how intelligent automation can support specialist teams, enabling them to devote more time to activities that keep communities safe.”

New AI governance across incident lifecycle

Designed as the “flight recorder” for public safety artificial intelligence (AI), a new governance solution creates a single, time-aligned record of AI-assisted activity and human decision-making.

It delivers independent, end-to-end transparency across the emergency incident lifecycle from the first call, through to dispatch, response and final review.

For nearly four decades, each major shift in command and control room technology has required public safety organisations to expand and improve the records they keep. Voice logging preserved what was said. Then came digital and IP communications which enabled end-to-end incident reconstruction, followed by NG999 and multi-media, which brought digital evidence together.

In recent years AI-assisted quality assurance has made it possible to evaluate emergency interactions at scale. Now, as AI enters call triage, language translation, dispatch, threat assessment, report generation, records management, and other mission-critical workflows, the next record organisations must keep is how AI and people made decisions together.

With the launch of NiCE Witness, NiCE says it is enabling public safety organisations to answer three critical questions about every incident…

1. What happened? NiCE Inform brings together 999 audio, CAD activity, radio communications, reports, and digital records into a complete, chronological incident view, while intelligent dashboards help leaders see patterns and performance trends across operations.
2. Was it handled correctly? The Inform AI software extends quality assurance from small samples to virtually every emergency interaction through automated evaluation, configurable scoring, coaching workflows, and performance analytics – for people, and increasingly for the AI working beside them.
3. Can we prove every decision? NiCE Witness adds the independent, auditable, and defensible record of AI-assisted decision-making, showing how recommendations and human judgment combined from the first call through final review.

“Public safety has always depended on a trusted record when the stakes are highest,” said Chris Wooten, executive vice-president, NiCE. “AI does not change that need, it expands what the record must capture. Across the first-response lifecycle, NiCE Witness provides an impartial, cross-vendor account of what AI did, how personnel responded, what happened, and whether the response aligned with policy and standards. The result is independent, auditable proof of whether AI is performing as intended, and a verifiable, defensible record of every critical decision.”

Nottinghamshire Police introduces new command and control solution

Nottinghamshire Police is rolling out a new integrated command and control solution.

The new programme, comprising NEC’s ControlWorks and Communications solution alongside a hosted voice and contact centre platform, will introduce cutting-edge technology, enabling the force to address the increasingly complex nature of public contact.

Alongside the core control room solutions, a suite of additional technologies will make operations more efficient and reduce the cognitive load on the call takers and dispatchers.

Robotic process automation will be used to automatically create incidents from external sources such as Single Online Home and ANPR, while ControlWorks Dispatch Assistant will support operators in the dispatch of resources to incidents.

To further support policing operations, incident data will be integrated with the force’s existing xD mapping platform to provide comprehensive management and reporting of hotspot policing activity with live data and mapping integrated into a single mobile application.

Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin at Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We are really pleased to have entered a contract with NEC Software Solutions UK who, following a competitive process, we identified as our preferred supplier.

“We had the opportunity to engage with our workforce who use our Command and Control on a regular basis, to learn about their experience, understand their challenges and future requirements.

“The Command and Control system is vital to police work, specifically for our control room operators and officers who are dispatched to incidents. The system helps us to make better informed decisions for better outcomes, so it is imperative that we get it right to help build trust and confidence with members of the public.”

The new system is expected to go live in early 2028.

‘Important opportunity’ for policing to harness the full potential of technology

The National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) Innovation & Digital Summit 2026 will be held at the Liverpool Experience Campus from October 20-22.

The Summit will bring together senior policing leaders, digital and technology specialists, industry partners and public sector innovators to explore how technology, data and digital transformation can support the future of policing and improve services for the public. O2 Business has been confirmed as the principal sponsor for the Summit organised by the Police Digital Service.

Chief Constable Rob Carden, NPCC lead for Digital, Data and Technology, said: “The Innovation & Digital Summit provides an important opportunity for policing and our partners to come together, share ideas and showcase the innovation that is helping us meet the challenges of modern policing.”

Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan, chair of the NPCC Science and Innovation Coordination Committee, added: “Strong partnerships are essential if policing is to harness the full potential of technology and innovation. O2 Business brings significant expertise and experience, and their support for the Summit will help create a valuable forum for collaboration, learning and innovation across policing and the wider public sector.”

Charlotte Hails, head of Public Safety & Justice at O2 Business, said the future of policing “will be shaped by the effective use of data, digital technology and trusted partnerships”.

Visit https://pds-npcc-innovation-digital-summit-2026-event-site.eventsairsite.com/