WIREDGOV

The 2024 general election has ushered in a new era for policing. Martin Taylor analyses the importance of investing in both people and technology to improve performance and enhance public safety.

The 2024 general election has signalled a change in approach across a number of areas of the public sector. For the first time since 2014 the country is being led by a Labour government; paving the way for a different approach. It’s reasonable to expect a stronger and more interventionist mindset from a Labour Home Secretary as well as a more nuanced focus on criminality (remember “Tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”?).

The general election wasn’t the only notable vote in 2024. May’s elections for Police and Crime Commissioners and metro mayors also took place and these matter a lot for policing and what we can expect in terms of approach and investment for the coming years.

Addressing Modern Challenges

The new political leadership of policing, whether at a national or local level, has inherited a vital public service with considerable challenges. It’s common to hear people describe a crisis of trust and confidence in policing, with low morale, recruitment difficulties and poor staff retention. In fact, a glance at the latest round of PEEL inspections makes it clear that the position is indeed worrying. The sector faces an acute performance and delivery challenge. With political and police leaders, as well as the public, focused on recruitment numbers and visible policing - more “bobbies on the beat” - how can improvements be made in crucial areas such as contact management?

Increased recruitment will undoubtedly be beneficial and bring additional capacity. However, rapid recruitment will come with challenges including high costs associated with recruiting, training, equipping and deploying officers. In short, simply throwing more people at the problem doesn’t always produce the best outcome, especially in today’s technologically advanced world.

Enhancing Performance Through Effective Communications

Instead of focusing too heavily on funding one area or another, approaches should be based on providing a better balance between investment in front-line staff and technology. The ‘People and Technology’ combination holds the key to transforming both efficiency and standards. Now more than ever, technology solutions that are tried and tested in multiple sectors, and which stand ready to be deployed in the cloud, can make a tangible impact. Within contact management, modern solutions have been linked to vastly improved call answering times as well as opening up digital contact channels; allowing the public to reach out on their terms, through any medium at any time. These cloud-based contact management technologies also serve as the data orchestration start-point for policing’s journey into Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

People and Tech: A Balancing Act

For policing to transform, it needs to look seriously at the technology that is shaping other sectors, and allowing operators in comparable environments to deliver effective and efficient outcomes. Policing also needs to continue learning from history: Extra pairs of hands have never outpaced the march of technology, even before the digital acceleration of the 21st century. A blend of people and technology to achieve the most efficient and effective outcomes must be considered at all levels of policing in order to meet modern challenges.

No matter the political landscape, both nationally and locally, the challenges of resource and public confidence remain the same. Technology leaders must, therefore, come together to support the next generation of policing leadership in protecting our communities and preventing harm. Police colleagues must engage with technologists to understand the near-term transformative opportunities available from multiplying human talent with technology, unlocking the power of both, not solely backing one or the other.