Motorola enhances mobile policing workflows with next-gen Pronto

Just weeks after introducing a digital application to replace Police Scotland officers’ traditional paper notebooks in the Glasgow area, Motorola Solutions has unveiled a number of new integrations for its Pronto digital policing application software to enhance mobile workflows.

Motorola said emergency services face the increasing challenge of needing to be fit for purpose in a society whose needs have become more complex, given the proliferation of new technologies. The supplier said its technology can fundamentally bring about better decision-making and “dramatically” improve public safety.

The latest launch is designed to show how front-line police officers can significantly improve decision-making and evidence collection and management through new technology. The principal implementation integrates Motorola Solutions’ Edesix body-worn cameras into Pronto via the company’s digital evidence management system, CommandCentral Vault, and a second integration gives officers access to driver’s licence images via Pronto.

As body-worn video has been adopted more widely within policing and the criminal justice system as a whole, data management and storage processes have had to adapt to these increased demands. Currently, police officers have to complete a number of manual steps when using body-worn video equipment, including switching on the camera and uploading and tagging the footage into a data management system. The body-worn camera’s integration with Pronto via CommandCentral Vault eliminates these manual steps, said Motorola.

GPS-enabled cameras capture location data and automatically sync with recordings on the Pronto device. Full integration means that when the camera footage is uploaded into CommandCentral Vault, it is tagged automatically.

Integration with Pronto was used in a recent pilot with Surrey and Sussex Police that began in mid-August. It gave officers access to driver’s licence images at the roadside, helping them to quickly identify the person officers had stopped for traffic offences, such as uninsured vehicles or speeding.

With the goal of breaking down silos between different organisations’ systems, the trial reduced the time taken to identify a driver, once stopped, from 16 minutes to just five minutes, through the images supplied from the driver’s licence database. More than 1,400 images were accessed during the 12-week trial, which is now expanding to more officers throughout the force.

Dan Pascoe of the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit said: “The ability to securely receive Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency images through Pronto enables front-line officers to quickly confirm the identity of a driver, speed up stop checks and deal with drivers in a more professional and expeditious manner.”