PCC launches multi-million pound innovation fund

A new £2 million Innovation Fund has been launched by Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones to help transform frontline policing.

The fund is designed to support innovative ideas from police officers and staff that help policing get back to the basics: being visible in communities, getting investigations over the line, solving problems, cutting through red tape and freeing up front line time.

PCC Donna Jones said: “As a police force, we need to make sure we utilise all resources to ensure we’re modern and fit for the future.

“The use of science and technology is vitally important for that.

“It holds significant potential to be used to make policing better, more transparent, and more effective – helping solve operational challenges, reducing crime and delivering a better, trusted service.

“Society faces a unique set of challenges and by utilising the ideas and solutions of officers and staff, we can put them into practice to reduce crime and make our communities safer.”

The Innovation Fund was announced by the PCC at the University of Portsmouth’s Policing Futures Forum which brought police officers and staff together with academics.

In a unique collaboration they’re working together on identifying problems, designing solutions, and putting them into practice to help get police back on the streets, reducing crime and making our communities safer.

Science can contribute to strategic decision making in policing. It can contribute to solving particular operational challenges, be future facing and pre-empt future issues.

PCC Donna Jones added: “I want the force to be as forward-thinking and as productive as possible. Science and technology sit at the heart of delivering that.

“This fund will help develop ideas which speed up everyday tasks and increase police visibility on our streets.”

AI is already playing a big role in policing across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The pioneering UKPAC and EyesOn apps have been successfully rolled out to help in the fight against retail and rural crime while the force has become one of the first in the country to trial a pioneering new AI Virtual Assistant, known as Bobbi.

Since November, it’s answered frequently asked, non-emergency questions that come in to the police – offering an additional service, alongside its online forms, telephone lines and front counters, for those seeking help or advice.

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