News

New Chapter in Police Notebook History for Bedfordshire Police as they roll out tuServ!

January 24, 2016

The tradition of jotting everything down in a well-thumbed pocket notebook is set to become a thing of the past for Bedfordshire Police officers.

After decades of use it is to be replaced by an electronic version that forms part of an application called tuServ. It will be downloaded on to Police laptops now and smartphones later.

The electronic notebook will allow officers to capture everything from text and signatures to images, video and audio. It will also allow real-time sharing of captured information across the force, saving time and money.

tuServ will be deployed to all officers and staff who need it and further functionality is expected to be rolled out in the future.

One feature, called ‘Around Me’, means that officers can see at a glance incidents that are going on around them within a chosen radius of one to 30 miles, including those in neighbouring forces (Cambs and Herts).

It can help officers plan their day around appointments, update them as they go along, see police information attached to locations and access virtually all the information on the force Command and Control system.

The application also helps assist quick decision making – such as whether a supervisor should attend a scene – and means many jobs can be done in the field rather than returning to station.

The application is the latest step in the force’s mission to embrace technology and become more efficient in the face of reduced budgets. The force, assisted by Home Office Innovation Funding, has already rolled out smartphones, body worn video and mobile technology.

Police and Crime Commissioner, Olly Martins, said: “I have been keen for Bedfordshire Police to embrace new technology because as force budgets shrink we need to explore every avenue to become more efficient. tuServ means officers will spend more time where the public want them most – in the community protecting people and fighting crime.”

Project lead, Supt Mark Upex, added: “tuServ has already been rolled out in Cambridgeshire and is due to come on stream in Hertfordshire. This means the Tri-Force Alliance will be even better aligned.”