![](https://emergencyservicestimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/ESS-Button-resized.png")
Compiling data for reports or submissions demands significant manual effort, including data extraction, duplication refinement, and list cleansing. When these tasks must be performed multiple times a day under strict deadlines, the burden on staff increases. This often necessitates overtime work, leading to additional costs.
In one UK police force, a team was tasked with performing the same routine activity 720 times a year. Each iteration took 20 minutes to complete, resulting in an estimated annual cost of £60,000 to provide data to the CPS.
That changed when they implemented an automated solution. Using Robotic Process Automation (RPA), the solution was designed to trigger the recurring activity at the same time each day, performing the same steps to create the required report.
Now, the 720 iterations of the report are still created, but they take only 7 minutes each and run 24/7, eliminating the pressure on staff to meet deadlines or work out of hours. Minimal exceptions are flagged for review, allowing staff to focus on more complex and higher-value tasks.
RPA has been identified as a key productivity catalyst. When deployed correctly, it has proven to free up officers from repetitive, low-value and time-consuming tasks, enabling them to concentrate on high-value activities that make a significant difference to the public.
If you would like to find out more we have put together a Guide to Robotic Process Automation that is free to download.
We are really excited how our RPA expertise can support UK Policing and we can offer a low-risk RPA Discovery programme to help you find answers to your questions.
Read our previous article looking at how partnerships can unleash policing’s true potential, transforming operations and making the public safer and increasing confidence. Our first case study looking at duplicated data can also be read here.
To read similar articles, check out our Technology channel.
