The Western Australia Police (WA Police) and a telecommunications equipment company partnered to roll out a new public safety mobile application that operates within the CarPlay application. This move is said, by the organisations, to be a world-first.
The new integration extends the use of WA Police’s OneForce Core application, enabling frontline officers to manage key operational workflows from within their police vehicles through CarPlay. Drivers can also use voice control features for safe operation while staying focused on the road.
The technology is based on the tech firm’s Solutions’ PSCore public safety mobile application that integrates critical operational information from multiple WA Police systems, presenting it through a single, intuitive interface. OneForce Core is a key part of WA Police’s digital policing strategy to leverage technology to improve productivity, incident awareness and safety for officers and citizens alike.
Over 5000 of WA Police’s frontline officers are aided in working more safely and efficiently every day via the mobile application. It is already assisting the agency’s transition to digital traffic infringement notices, removing the need to process up to 180,000 handwritten infringement notices every year.
The WA Police Deputy Commissioner stated that the smart mobile technology helps the police force to work with improved safety and focus when responding to emergency calls. It was noted that when police officers respond to an incident, they need accurate and relevant information to inform their decisions and keep themselves and community members safe. Since deploying OneForce Core, officers have been better informed with access to critical operational information wherever they are.
“Now we’re taking the next step by extending the rich capabilities of OneForce Core into our police vehicles through the integration with CarPlay including voice controls,” WA Police Deputy Commissioner said.
Continued benefits from upgrading
The new solution represents another milestone for WA Police since its migration to the tech company’s PremierOne Computer Aided Dispatch system in 2015. That upgrade enhanced WA Police’s response to incidents by providing officers with access to operational data from anywhere at any time.
The Vice President of the firm’s branch for Australia and New Zealand noted that said mobile technology helps organisations to make better use of their most valuable data sources. By extending the reach of CAD and other critical systems with smart mobile technology, organisations can work more efficiently and make better decisions about where to place their most valuable resources, he said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the tech firm noted that the successful mobile technology deployment by the WA Police reflects the company’s human-centric research and development approach that places individual users’ needs at the heart of the solution. He added that when public safety professionals require access to vital, life-saving information, it must be as intuitive and frictionless as possible.
By leveraging new interactions with familiar technology interfaces such as CarPlay, the complexity of the high-stress situations responders face is removed and they are aided in maintaining focus on their mission. The firm is proud to introduce this new capability which forms an important part of WA Police’s digital policing strategy, he added.