Centre for Police Productivity ‘will allow officers to spend more time on the frontline,’ says police chief

In a first for British policing, a new Centre for Police Productivity will use new tools to spot emerging crime trends and tactics to drive efficiency. The centre will work with police forces to develop new tactics before testing and sharing them to tackle crime early on and save officer time.

Coming out of the government’s independent Policing Productivity Review and created with government funding, the College of Policing will host the centre. It will complement the knowledge gained from the What Works Centre for Crime Reduction where police use evidence and knowledge to make informed decisions.

“This is a significant moment for policing and gives us an unprecedented opportunity to use data and new technologies that will allow officers to spend more time on the frontline keeping our communities safe.”

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO, College of Policing.

One of its first tasks will be to work with partners in policing on a central hub for police data. The productivity centre will include expert teams who understand data and behaviour change. The teams will visit police forces across the country to ensure high quality and consistent information is being shared and used to create new tactics to tackle criminals and enhance productivity.

“We can make huge gains in productivity by turning to technology so that we can spot crime trends without officers having to trawl through thousands of pieces of data. 

“Using data-driven insights and innovation will mean officers can make their organisations more efficient and effective so that more time can be spent on frontline policing to keep the public safe.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh, CEO, College of Policing.

The Policing Minister, Chris Philp MP said that he wanted to see ‘cutting edge innovation ingrained in policing’ adding that by investing in technology the government will ‘continue to give police the tools they need to rise to the challenge of modern policing.’

For more information on wider productivity activity, read the full Home Office response to the Policing Productivity Review.

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