Transforming UK Policing: Leveraging Technology, Productivity, and Empathy for a Safer Future

In light of my review of the independent report on UK policing productivity, I would like to summarise the key challenges and opportunities faced by this sector and how Genesys solutions could help propel UK policing to the next level.

Rising demands on law enforcement due to societal shifts and emerging technologies are pressuring UK police forces. To improve efficiency and public engagement, the forces must modernise their operations. One key goal is to free up approximately 38 million police hours over the next five years, enabling officers to handle burglaries, domestic abuse, and antisocial behaviours effectively.

Here are the salient themes and recommendations from the productivity review for the UK policing sector:

Key Themes

1. Adoption of New Technologies:

Integrating modern technology is essential to enhancing police efficiency. This includes embracing advanced tools and systems that streamline operations and improve overall effectiveness. It's important to ensure these tools work seamlessly together, providing integrated information across a range of data sources—that may be across a range of relevant emergency services, e.g., police, health, social care, etc.

2. Data-Driven Policing:

Improved data analytics are crucial for optimising resource deployment. By leveraging data, police forces can make more informed decisions and allocate resources where they are most needed. For instance, an app showing hotspots for service calls on officers' devices (phones/tablets/laptops) can guide proactive patrols. This data point is invaluable if an area generates over ten calls in the last month, with wrap-up codes indicating issues like drug dealing.

3. Interagency Collaboration:

Enhanced cooperation between various law enforcement and public service agencies is necessary. Sharing information and resources can lead to more cohesive and effective policing strategies. For example, exporting anonymised data about calls and interactions can help agencies like the NCA, councils, mental health, and social services identify problem locations.

4. Community Engagement:

Increasing public trust through proactive community interactions is vital. Engaging with the community fosters a positive relationship and ensures the public feels heard and protected. Easy-to-create chat interactions linking directly to public appeals can pre-populate operator screens with relevant incident information, facilitating more effective and timely responses.

5. Training and Development:

Continuous professional development is essential to keeping pace with technological advancements. Ensuring contact centre staff and officers are trained in new technologies and methods is critical for maintaining efficiency and effectiveness. Best practices from the public sector can help police deliver better experiences in initial contact settings for non-emergency calls, potentially integrating agent learning subscriptions, e.g., Genesys Beyond.

6. Resource Allocation:

Better staffing and budgeting management based on data insights can improve the utilisation of available resources. This is achieved through AI-powered forecasting, scheduling, planning, and monitoring tools. These tools enable more precise resource allocation, ensuring that the right personnel are in place at the right times to address critical needs efficiently.

7. Digital Infrastructure:

Robust digital platforms are needed to support policing activities. A solid digital infrastructure ensures officers can access the tools and information they need to perform their duties effectively. With Millennials and Gen Z entering the workforce, meeting their digital expectations can enhance their work experience and workplace satisfaction.

8. Cybersecurity Measures:

Strengthening cybersecurity protocols is essential to protect data and communication. With the increasing reliance on digital tools, safeguarding sensitive information is more critical than ever.

9. Performance Metrics:

Using performance metrics to measure and improve policing outcomes can lead to more effective and accountable law enforcement. Metrics clearly show what is working and where improvements are needed. Additionally, integrating Knowledge Assist can help Contact teams achieve better resolution over the phone, reducing the need for officer attendance.

10. Legislative Support:

Legislative backing is necessary to implement new technologies and practices effectively. Policy support can help overcome bureaucratic hurdles and ensure the smooth adoption of innovative solutions.

Recommendations from Policymaking and Industry Insights

1. Strategic Technology Integration:

Embrace cutting-edge technologies to streamline operations, enhance data analytics, and foster predictive policing capabilities. This strategic integration can revolutionise policing, making it more proactive and efficient.

2. Automated Administrative Processes:

Implementing automation to manage routine tasks can significantly improve contact centre efficiency. By automating administrative duties, valuable time and resources could be freed. Tools like WEM (workforce engagement management) enable the prediction of call influx and additional agent scheduling for seamless and effective interaction handling. This ensures that the force’s contact centres are always prepared to meet demand, leading to better service and more efficient operations. Furthermore, AI bots, RPA and automated task management take manual and repetitive tasks away from front and back office staff, freeing up the capacity to focus on more essential and emergency topics.

3. Agile Response Frameworks:

Develop responsive and flexible operational frameworks that adapt to the dynamic nature of modern crimes and societal expectations. Agile frameworks allow for quick adaptation and response to emerging threats and challenges.

4. Enhanced Public Engagement:

Utilise digital tools to bolster community relations and ensure transparent, two-way communication with the public. Effective public engagement builds trust and cooperation between law enforcement and the community.

5. Workforce Empowerment:

Invest in continuous training and development to equip officers with the skills to navigate new technologies and complex social dynamics. Empowering the workforce with knowledge and skills is key to effective policing.

6. Interagency Collaboration:

Foster a collaborative environment across various governmental and non-governmental bodies to streamline efforts and share crucial data. Collaboration enhances the ability to tackle complex issues and provides a unified approach to law enforcement.

How Genesys Supports the Mission

Genesys Cloud CX offers transformative solutions tailored to the unique needs of law enforcement:

Unified Experience Orchestration Platforms: Genesys facilitates comprehensive management of multiple communication channels, ensuring that all citizen interactions are captured and integrated seamlessly.

Interagency Collaboration: Genesys is a cloud-based platform that can safely and securely host multiple police forces and government agencies, enabling them to benefit from innovation, achieve consistency and sustainability, and reduce overall operational costs.

Community Engagement: Through proactive community interactions, Genesys' social media listening and engagement capabilities help increase public trust.

Advanced Analytics and AI: Genesys reporting and analytics capabilities could analyse vast amounts of data to predict and proactively engage citizens by automatically determining their intent and optimising resource deployment.

Automated Customer Service Solutions: Genesys frees up officer time by automating routine interactions using voice and chatbots, allowing more focus on fieldwork and community engagement.

Employee Experience Enhancements: Genesys unified agent desktop centralises access to necessary tools and information, integrating with command centres and knowledge bases and boosting operational efficiency and officer satisfaction. AI supports officers with real-time assistance on calls, providing valuable hints, tips, and articles - reducing AHT and freeing up resources to focus on more urgent and emergency calls.

Conclusion

As UK police forces strive to meet modern challenges with limited resources, the strategic application of Genesys's innovative solutions can play a pivotal role in transforming policing practices. By embracing these technologies, law enforcement agencies can significantly enhance their productivity and community relations, ensuring a safer environment for all citizens.

If you would like more information on how Genesys can help your force meet its operational goals, please don't hesitate to contact Paul Morgan , Senior Account Executive, Genesys or drop me a note for an exploratory conversation. Let us help you build a safer, more connected community.