Police chief hails technology role Jul 18th 2013, 11:55
Press Association –
Police forces must make "the best use of every pound of public money" to ensure crime rates fall in the wake of budgets cuts, a chief constable has warned.
Hertfordshire chief constable Andy Bliss said new technology had helped his force reduce crime despite facing huge savings as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released the country's latest crime figures.
His remarks came as David Cameron and Home Secretary Theresa May met with local officers in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, after the county saw a 15% reduction in overall crime in the last year.
The Prime Minister was shown the use of "toughpads" - a tablet being piloted by Hertfordshire Constabulary which allows officers to record crime while on the beat - which has been hailed as helping to reduce offending more efficiently.
A package of £6.3 million of savings in the force's budget for 2013/14 was approved in January, with plans to cut 60 officer and 76 staff posts, according to reports.
Mr Bliss said he was pleased the latest figures showed there were fewer victims of crime in the area.
He said: "It isn't about percentages and I think all of us as chief constables know that. It's about the misery that crime brings to people's lives, the blight it brings to families, the upset. It's just great to see so many fewer victims in the county. We know we've got to make the best use of every pound of public money, that's what we're doing."
Mr Bliss said the toughpad had proven a vital "crime-fighting tool", allowing officers to take photographs of crime scenes and identify suspects. Hertfordshire Constabulary is one of the first forces to pilot the use of the technology.
He said: "This is the latest generation of technology. Putting crime fighting tools in the hands of front-line officers, allowing them to do intelligence checks in the street, identify suspects using photographs, taking pictures of crime scenes, all of those very practical things that officers need to do on a daily basis.
"This enables them to do in their professional lives what they are often able to do in their private lives, so it's a big leap forward for us in technology. Nationally all chief constables are really focusing on this. Yes, budgets are being cut but this is part of how we'll continue to reduce crime across the country using technology and the great work of officers and other agencies working with us."
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