Jeff Bezos linked company to help Cumbria Police lead the way with IT revolution

In partnership with Mark43, a US firm whose advisors include the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the Cumbrian force is preparing to adopt a 'cloud-based' information system which experts say has the potential to cut red tape and free officers from hours of tedious and repetitive administration.

Available through smartphones and laptops, the IT system gives officers instant access to data, records and intelligence, and because it is constantly being updated the system will improve risk management.

Used by forces across the US, the system has already led to dramatic reductions in officer administration hours. 

In the Washington DC police force, Mark43’s system saved 240,000 officer admin hours in one year.

With all cloud-based systems able to function even in areas with patchy internet connection, Cumbrian police chiefs say it is ideal for the county.

Cumbria’s Chief Constable Michelle Skeer said: “Improving the digital tools and systems with which our staff and officers do their jobs means they can work smarter and more efficiently.

"That gives them more opportunity to be out and visible in our communities, which we know people want.

“Ultimately, this partnership will help our officers to do their jobs better for the benefit of tackling and deterring crime and keeping the communities of Cumbria safe.

Innovation: Chief Constable Michelle Skeer, Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Blackwell and co-Founder of Mark43 Matt Polega

“When officers are going from job to job, this system will save them time. The whole idea of investing in technology is to make the job better, which ultimately means we’re delivering a better service to members of the public.

“All our officers have mobile devices. They'll be able to log on anywhere in the community and access all of our systems. They’ll be able to do whatever they need to do out there in the community.

“That’s what we’re working towards.

“It’s about doing that as smoothly as possible, so that we don’t have officers having to go to a job, come back to the station to do the paperwork and then go out and do another job.

"Working with Mark43 makes sure that is all streamlined so that we’re not duplicating what we’re doing; the officer experience will be so much better.

“That frees officers up so they can then be more visible within the community, which is what our communities are telling us they want.”

'It will be much more seamless'

With the system being cloud-based, say experts, no sensitive information will be stored on devices. It’s all on the cloud – a server that users can access, while individual devices are protected by biometric security.

Cumbria’s Assistant Chief Constable Jonathan Blackwell said: “Our officers and staff use digital systems throughout their duties and having them as streamlined and free of duplication as possible means more officers can be out on the beat.”

The new system also proactively “pushes” data to officers which is relevant to where they are working.

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"They’ll have the information at their fingertips and because it’s cloud-based, it will be much more seamless," said ACC Blackwell. Police briefings with Mark43 will also be more bespoke, ensuring officers get information relevant to their work. 

ACC Blackwell added: "If your beat is Penrith, you’ll get all the local information and intelligence that’s relevant to you, pushing you to do different things in the community.

"If you are on your way to an incident, it will push information to you about that address.

"Who was previously at that address, who the associates are, whether there any weapons markers there. It’s making it much more efficient but there’s a public safety element to it as well.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Peter McCall said Mark43's system is innovative. "I expect it will assit with reducing paperwork, improve essential information flow for officers and give them time to be back in our communities.”

'They were getting mired in writing reports and administrivia'

Harvard University engineering graduate Matt Polega, one of three co-founders of Mark43, began working on law enforcement IT a decade ago after discovering US police forces were weighed down by outdated tech.

Those systems were swamping officers with hours of duplicated admin. Asked what the key objective for the system was, he said: “It was to get officers back in the field.

"They were signing up to do law-enforcement and instead they were getting mired in writing reports and administrivia – administrative tasks which nobody ever expects police officers to do.”

Mark43’s systems are now being used by more than 135 agencies throughout the US and Australia, including in Washington DC, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta.

The Cumbria system, expected to go live in around 18 months, will cost around £1m, though IT investment represents less than one per cent of the Constabulary's budget.

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