Force to fully mobilise response fleet

Nottinghamshire Police is to become the first force in the region and one of the first nationally to fully mobilise response officers by installing portable computers in vehicles. TETRATab in-car laptops will be fitted to the dashboards of every response car to provide officers with the same computer access as in an office.

Each device will have full Wi-Fi connection and will provide access to all force systems and network drives allowing officers to complete administrative tasks from their vehicles rather than returning to the station.

Approved by the Chief Officer Team last month, Assistant Chief Constable Sue Fish, the force lead for local policing, said the proposal would bring increased functionality for officers away from the station.

Ms Fish said: “The better equipped we can make our officers while out on patrol in the community, the better service they will be able to provide to the public. The TETRATab provides them with a portable office in their vehicle, which will mean faster and more efficient investigations and inquiries at the scenes of incidents.”

Building on the benefits of the BlackBerry, the in-car systems will allow officers access to additional force intelligence systems such as Footwear Intel and Red Card.

This will reduce dependency on the control room, freeing-up their time to deal with emergency calls.

The Remote Working project team, led by Chief Inspector Kerry McLernon, trialled two devices. Officers favoured the TETRATab due its better storage, data coverage and look. The devices have solid state memory which is more reliable and efficient than a hard drive as well as 3G, GPRS and Bluetooth connectivity, built-in cameras and a microphone.

Chief Insp McLernon added: “The installation programme will begin with newest vehicles first until every response vehicle in the force is fitted. Each kit is also interchangeable between vehicles allowing us to move devices when a vehicle is replaced.”

The TETRATab is fitted into the glove box of the vehicle, where it can be charged. A screen is fitted into the centre console of the vehicle and a keyboard is stored in the footwell. The fitting meets safety legislation for interior vehicle equipment and has been approved by the force vehicle maintenance contractor, Venson.

All response officers will receive training on the use of the new devices.