Hampshire Constabulary’s force-wide roll-out of mobile data has now gone live across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
With the purchase of more than 160 Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs) agreed by Hampshire Police Authority, the new equipment is being fitted to the constabulary fleet, of which 90 per cent is located in Hampshire, with 10 per cent on the Isle of Wight.
Training for the constabulary’s response officers commenced earlier this month, with positive feedback received from those that are already using the new equipment within their communities, ranging from Basingstoke and Andover to Southampton and Portsmouth.
Once an officer has been supplied with the necessary IT skills, they will then be able to access the key functions that are normally found on a station-based computer terminal from their vehicles.
The use of the fully-portable devices will increase police visibility within communities as officers will have access to live briefing information, enabling them to be in the right place at the right time to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour. The additional access to live information from force databases will also keep officers better informed when making decisions to protect residents.
Members of the public who interact with the police will also experience officers entering vital data straight to the force’s database and carrying out enquiries on laptops, while situated in a residential or commercial environment.
Deputy Chief Constable Andy Marsh said: “Evidence from trials has shown that access to mobile data dramatically reduces a police officer’s dependency on a police station.
“As a result, residents in Hampshire will be seeing a lot more of their police officers in their communities over the coming months.”
Jacqui Rayment, chair of Hampshire Police Authority, said: “We are very pleased to enable officers to be more visible to our local communities by undertaking work out in the field that would previously have had to be carried out at a station.”
