Premier announces “technology revolution” for Victoria Police

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news Victoria’s frontline police men and women will soon be kitted out with state-of-the-art mobile technology intended to bring about a “technology revolution”, thanks to funding allocated in the latest state budget.

The move means police in the state will soon have access to mobile devices intended to improve how they access information and respond to crime.

“Our frontline crime fighters will soon have cutting-edge technology at their fingertips to better respond to crime and keep Victorians safe,” said Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. “Information is the lifeblood of modern policing, and this technology builds on our huge investments in the strengthening the frontline.”

The new technology will be used in partnership with the new intelligence system announced in June and will allow officers to better respond to incidents of “violent crime, public disorder, terrorist threats and the scourge of family violence”, according to a statement from the office of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

Along with Minister for Police Lisa Neville and Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton, the Premier yesterday launched the tender process for Victoria Police’s “technology revolution” at Werribee Police Station, Melbourne.

The mobile devices and other technology will be rolled out “progressively” to frontline officers over the next four years, the statement said.

The technology will bring officers a suite of tools including:

  • Access to Sheriff notifications, the Victoria Police Manual and legislation, National Police Record System and emails
  • The ability to take and store photos, video and audio recordings, online training and other functions
  • “Significantly reduced” paperwork, with on-board applications helping police process statements and access critical databases in the field.

A later stage of the technology rollout will see frontline officers equipped with body-worn cameras to capture video evidence as incidents occur.

“This technology will save our police officers valuable time out in the field so they can focus on fighting crime and keeping Victorians safe,” said Minister for Police Lisa Neville.

The Andrews Labor Government announced an investment of $227 million in police technology in the Victorian Budget 2016/17.

The state has already this year announced a $596 million Public Safety Package, that will provide more than 400 new police officers, new police vehicles, ballistics vests and other equipment. A further $15 million will fund a 24/7 Monitoring and Assessment Centre.

In June, Victoria Police announced the introduction of a new intelligence platform aimed to bring together data from across the force’s approximately 500 different police applications.

The platform will provide officers with search and analytical tools to enhance the fight against gang and domestic violence, according to iT News.

By June 2017, Victoria Police hopes to be able to support 600 concurrent users of the platform, accessing data from core platforms like LEAP, the sex offenders registry, the iFace facial recognition system, and other databases, the news source said.

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