Surrey Police says goodbye to notebooks and embraces paperless policing

All new recruits at Surrey Police will now be issued with and trained to use only electronic notebooks (e-notebook) as the force embrace paperless policing. All shift information will be available to authorised personnel and stored and retrieved for evidential purposes. This removes the cost and inconvenience of storing and managing paper notebooks.

Information can also be shared with other organisations such as coroners’ offices and local authorities.

The e-notebook also facilitates an officer’s search across a broad range of back-end systems. This allows the officer to complete multiple forms using the same accurate and validated information. These forms are then submitted in real-time over the air, as well as printed copies issued on the spot to the member of the public.

Chief Superintendent Dave Leeney of Surrey Police said: “We are delighted that all our new recruits will use the e-notebook from the commencement of their service. Not only has the device shown large cost and time-saving benefits, it is a vital tool frontline officers need to enable them to focus on their job.

“By capturing and managing accurate and validated information electronically at the start of a process, it removes significant time wasting across the organisation and drives our commitment towards paperless policing.”

Nigel Rees, managing director of Kelvin Connect, an Airwave Group, that will supply Surrey Police with its Pronto e-notebook, said: “This means that officers in Surrey will be able to electronically capture all the information they’ve gathered on their shift, replacing the paper pocket book.”

He added: “The benefits to the frontline officer, force and public are clear: information captured electronically is synchronised with relevant back-end systems allowing others across the force instant visibility of information. For example, it enhances response to events requiring multiple officers working together, such as a road traffic collision.”

Pronto is also being used as part of the National Policing Improvement Agency’s (NPIA) Electronic Witness and Signature Pilot Project in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Last year, the first case using electronic witness statements was won by the Crown Prosecutor at Redhill magistrates’ court in Surrey.

“The Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS) programme within the NPIA is supporting the criminal justice system by piloting the use of technology, such as Kelvin Connect’s Pronto, as part of the Evidential Witness Statement project,” said Inspector Kevin McCarthy, electronic witness statement project manager, ISIS, NPIA.

He said the aim was to prove that the process can be streamlined and the experience improved for the witness or officer, while enhancing the authenticity of the digital evidence.