For the first time police investigators and intelligence practitioners can search across multiple systems and perform complex data analytics, through a single interface, to build rich intelligence pictures to solve, or disrupt crime. This solution is the most advanced of its kind in Australia and is receiving significant interest from the New Zealand Police Force and INTERPOL.

Mobile Technology

Our Mobile Technology initiative equips police officers in the field with handheld mobile devices and a custom built application to access and input operational information. More than 7,000 devices have now been deployed and the project is on track to deploy a total of 10,000 devices over the next few months. All this work is more than the provisioning of commercial mobile tablets and phones; the real achievement is in complex backend integration creating a user experience which is world class. For users, the technology is simple and intuitive, and allows important information to be shared and accessed in near real time. Mobile technology is proving invaluable for operational decision making through immediate access to accurate information and reliable intelligence.

Body Worn Cameras

Body Worn Cameras streamline the gathering and storing of video evidence. This is proving important in cases before the courts and in supporting the work of family violence investigations. It ensures transparent interactions between police and the community, whilst enhancing the accountability of all parties and improving safety by changing people’s behaviour. This technology has required a re-think in the way police interact with the public that has resulted in revised policies and new government legislation. Approximately 1,000 Body Worn Cameras have been deployed to date with another 10,000 cameras being issued to police officers by the end of 2019. Once fully deployed, Victoria Police will have the second largest stock of Body Worn Cameras in the world, second only to the Metropolitan police force in London.

Police Assistance Line and Online Reporting

Victoria Police is improving its service to the community in recording information about non-urgent crime, which does not require the immediate dispatch of a police unit. A private/public partnership has been formed to establish a public call centre and online reporting platform. This provides new channels for the community to contact police. Our industry partner is integrating its applications with Victoria Police systems allowing the community to easily report non-urgent incidents to police. The service is expected to reduce the call volumes at the State’s Emergency Call Centre by 30 per cent. Calls and online reports will be dealt with at the contact centre using civilian employees. Police members will be co-located to serve as subject matter experts and law enforcement advisors for these employees. From February 2019, we will commence operations, with full operational capability being achieved by the end of 2019.

Organisational Change Management (OCM)

It is imperative that we have a strong organisational change management capability integrated with the technology delivery streams to drive business transformation. Law enforcement organisations, such as Victoria Police, are built on long-standing professional relationships and high standards of ethical behaviour. The trust between police officers is built and sustained through constantly working in highly stressful, dangerous and complex environments. Consequently, police officers are schooled in a ’can-do’ attitude and finding innovative ways to use the resources at hand. The police culture forged through this environment challenges traditional ways of delivering change. We have built strong relationships between the organisational change management practitioners and those sworn officers responsible for business engagement and reinforcing change.

Given the unique culture, environment and complexities involved, I took the approach of separating the OCM work into two lines of operation. One work stream follows the classic OCM practice of stakeholder and change impact analysis, planning and preparation of stakeholder support (communications and training), whilst the other stream allows police to engage and execute the change messaging, communications and education directly with operational police officers. The OCM stream is led by a professional change practitioner, whilst the business engagement stream is led by a senior police officer. These two streams work closely together to deliver a well-designed and constructed change program.