The recent riots in London and other parts of the UK have brought about a lot of negative press for RIM as BlackBerry was the primary device used by a lot of the youngsters to organise riots and communicate with others via BlackBerry Messenger. But where there’s a negative, there’s always positive. The UK Police have been issued with BlackBerry devices to help them be more productive, giving them more time to police the streets. We’ve previously reported before that some Police Forces were trialling the BlackBerry Solution project and it seems that those Forces have seen the value of using the devices that more and more Forces are following suit and adopting the use of BlackBerry devices.

Yorkshire Police saw using the BlackBerry devices save them £112 million a year. Bedfordshire Police have been using BlackBerry devices for more than four years and have found that using a BlackBerry allows them to access data on the Police National Computer (PNC) on the go without using up too many resources. West Yorkshire adopted the BlackBerry solution to keep more Police Officers out of the office and on the streets by allowing them to work on files while on the move. South Yorkshire Police developed an application allowing their Police Officers access to police information and records while on the beat.

This practice has cut 27 steps from an officer’s shift as it means they do not have to constantly wait to access a Desktop PC to file their records. North Wales Police piloted the use of BlackBerry Smartphones in their Force and following the huge success of the project, they increased the number of officers using BlackBerry devices. The use of BlackBerry Smartphones provided officers with access to North Wales Police’s Niche Records Management System (RMS) giving them information they need to the palm of their hands without having to go through paperwork. The underlining point here is the fact that the use of BlackBerry Smartphones within these Police Forces has saved them money and increased productivity. Other benefits include:

• Improved police presence on the streets
• Increased officer productivity by providing access to cases and reducing the need to
  continually return to the station to file reports
• Increased value of a single mobile device for data and voice
  Low training requirements
• Compliance with national policing strategies and security needs

With the government planning to make Police budget cuts other Police Forces should look to adopting the use of BlackBerry devices within their Force. Enough Forces have proved that it can save them money, time and resources.

Source: Tracy and Matt