Lancashire Constabulary improves efficiency through digital dictation

Lancashire Constabulary provides policing services over some 2,000 square miles covering 124 miles of coastline, 256 miles of motorway, large rural areas and major towns.  It is directed by a Chief Constable, Deputy Chief Constable, two Assistant Chief Constables and a Director of Resources.

The Constabulary area is split into six large divisions, each managed locally by a Divisional Commander.  An operations division and headquarters also provide specialist services like motorway policing, finance and dealing with serious and organised crime.

The Challenge –Reducing paper work

Over the past five years Lancashire Constabulary has seen a significant increase in crimes being reported, putting a big strain on resources in terms of both officers and administration staff.  Indeed, recent research has shown that the average UK police officer spends 41 per cent of their time preparing files and paper work.

In a bid to make the process more manageable, the Constabulary reviewed the current way reports were being filed.  This identified that the process of handwriting and then faxing crime reports to the crime input clerks was leading to inefficiencies in the audit trail with some reports even going missing.  It also required two members of staff just to track the incoming paperwork.  Dictating reports to an operator to transcribe was also proving inefficient as the force only had seven operators allocated for the task.

Richard Allan, Police National Computer and crime recording manager at Lancashire Constabulary recalls: “Although we had 60 phone lines available we only had seven operators taking down reports at any one time.  We also had 34 staff working round the clock, transcribing the reports and managing the influx of faxes.”

The Constabulary needed a solution which would not only make the process of filing reports easier for officers but would take the strain off crime input clerks and better allocate resources across the Force.

The Solution – WinScribe

In conjunction with an upgrade of its crime recording database, Lancashire Constabulary looked into the benefits of digital dictation as a way of automating the process of filing reports to make it more efficient for the officer and balance out work load for the person transcribing.

The Constabulary approached a number of companies to provide a solution, including WinScribe.  The WinScribe Voice Forms computer telephony system came out on top due its flexible nature and the ability to easily track work and better allocate resource as a result.  “The team at WinScribe was very amenable to tailoring the system to meet our needs.  Implementation took place in April and went without a hitch, with the subsequent training of staff being very straightforward,” Allan explains.

Using Voice Forms to file a report, the officer on patrol is able to dial into the system, enter a number that corresponds with the crime type and then answer a series of prompted questions, of which there are 30 in total.  The report is then stored in a typing queue for digital transcription by the first crime input officer who becomes available - making entry of data into the crime recording database faster and more efficient.

“Up to 30 officers can now dictate into the system concurrently with 15 staff transcribing at any one time.  It is extremely easy to use and the help and support we received from WinScribe during and since implementation has been excellent,” comments Allan.

The Results –More time on the beat

Since installing the system, Lancashire Constabulary has reaped the benefits of an automated dictation system.  Officers can now file reports from the crime scene without having to come back to the office to hand write and fax a form. 

“The intuitive nature of the system has meant that officers have had no problems getting to grips with the new way of filing reports.  Working with WinScribe we have been able to reduce the time taken to file reports enabling officers to spend more time on the beat,” comments Allan.

Lancashire Constabulary has also seen a great improvement in the efficiency of crime input clerks who no longer need to work 24/7, as they can complete forms stored in the typing queue during normal working hours. 

“We can now view at the touch of a button how many reports we have logged on the system and what stage they are at, allowing us to even out bottlenecks,” adds Allan.

Using the facility in conjunction with a white board system Lancashire has also been able to better track and manage workload, ensuring that staff are not over or under loaded at any one time.  The WinScribe system also allows staff to view the type, length and deadline of the report and slow or speed up the recording to enable transcription at a speed which suits them. 

Due to the success of the system, Lancashire Constabulary anticipates rolling it out into other areas of the force including the Police National Computer and other intelligence areas.

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