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For most of the public, digital contact feels natural. From booking appointments to providing feedback, a whole host of tasks can be completed with ease. Between 2017 and 2020, the percentage of global customer interactions completed digitally almost tripled.
This brought convenience to consumers and savings for companies even before the pandemic accelerated the trend. But what about the benefits, and impacts, for policing?
In the UK alone there are 12 million 999 calls to police forces per year, growing at 5% annually for the past 10 years, 20 million non-emergency contacts via 101 or digital channels and 200,000 online reports that have highlighted a risk indicator.
As 999 calls volumes continue to rise there has been a detrimental impact on non-emergency call (101) wait times. This poor experience drives even more people to call 999 further compounding the issue. A focus on improving the 101 non-emergency experience by driving contact through digital channels and relieving the pressure on the 999 service seems to be the obvious way forward.
With the proliferation of smartphone and social media adoption it feels inevitable that digital should be the de-facto method of contact for non-emergencies. But how can forces embrace this change? And is there an opportunity to actively seek more digital contact to support proactive policing and ultimately keep communities safer?
For channel shift to make a genuine difference, it must transform productivity, meet public expectations and maintain trust in policing. It should therefore enable seamless experience across multiple touch points from end to end.
To avoid follow-up calls to 101 or 999, forces need to offer responsiveness at scale. This means maximising the intelligence value of all kinds of contact to target police resources more effectively and sharing data on local trends and progress to encourage conversation within the communities they serve.
New technology continues to change the nature of crime and policing, creating new challenges and new opportunities. As public services come under pressure and public expectations rise, volumes of contact are likely to increase across all channels. By operationalising digital contact, forces can avoid a contact crisis and take advantage of a more connected future.
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