UK police want funding for crime-fighting technology

UK police call for funding for nationwide officer recruitment drive and crime-fighting technology to tackle cyber crime: read on to find out more

Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) today published research showing that if more funding were to be secured for UK police forces, 85% of police officers, correction officers or other law enforcement surveyed would want to see it spent on hiring of new police officers nationwide.

Just under half (42%) also called for investment in new technology to help fight modern day crime.

In lieu of future funding commitments, SSCL’s research shows shared services could offer one route to unlocking budget. The YouGov survey, launched by SSCL, found that just under one in three officers surveyed (32%) support the use of shared services.

When asked why, over three-quarters (76%) of officers believe shared services would deliver financial savings to UK police forces and 48% believed they would help improve overall performance.

When asked which technology-based tools should be prioritised as an investment to help target modern-day crime, officers called for increased investment to fight cyber crime (56%) as the greatest need, while investments in mobile/self-service devices (51%) and big data processing (35%) were also essential.

Sue-Ellen Wright, Managing Director SSCL Police, said:

“The research is a powerful message about police officer priorities and solutions must be identified to support their growing needs. Clearly, shared services provide one viable option to unlock funding, reallocating spend to transform business service functions and help invest in technology to meet crime-fighting needs.”

A lack of knowledge about shared services may however be a roadblock to partnership.

The SSCL survey highlighted education is needed to understand the potential of shared services, with 24% of officers surveyed believing that a lack of knowledge around shared services would deter UK police forces from using them.

To help bridge this gap, SSCL is planning on working with police forces about shared services while highlighting the benefits and potential to transform UK policing.