Devon and Cornwall Police Case Study
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary currently employs 3,500 police officers, more than 2,000 civilian staff and 362 police community support officers. They cover the largest geographical police area in England, extending 180 miles from the Isles of Scilly in the west to the Dorset and Somerset borders in the east.
The area includes the cities of Exeter and Plymouth, popular seaside resorts such as Torquay and Newquay, and a large rural population. A general population of around 1.5 million can swell to as many as eight million with the influx of summer visitors, all of which can present some very challenging policing situations.
The Challenge
Domestic violence and abuse is the misuse of power and control within a relationship. It can begin at any time and is rarely a one-off event with incidents often increasing in frequency and severity over a period of time. It can take many forms, from physical violence to sexual attacks, bullying, threats, mental and verbal abuse, humiliation, control and deprivation of movement and financial control. Anyone can be subjected to domestic violence and abuse and there seem to be no single identifiable ‘type’ of perpetrator. Domestic abuse cuts across all boundaries of social group, class, age, race, religion, culture, disability, sexuality and lifestyle.
Crime prevention officers recognised that although victims were being provided with protection whilst at home, they needed further protection and reassurance measures within the wider community to enable them, as far as reasonably practical, to continue with a normal, healthy and safe lifestyle, free from control and restrictions. The team needed to provide an extended solution for Victims of domestic abuse.
The Solution
After discussions with Devon and Cornwall police Argyll deployed the Smartcare mobile phone and GPS device combined with the Integrated risk management service ‘Procare’ and secure Internet ‘track and trace’ service ‘Seeker’.
The Smartcare uses GPRS to send accurate GPS location information to Argyll’s servers at predetermined intervals providing a comprehensive historical trace of the device movements. The ‘Seeker’ service provides community support officers and police incident controllers with live and historical location information of any victim under their care.
An SOS function and impact sensor located within the device enables a distress signal or two way voice channel to be opened to Argyll’s state of the art BS5979 CATII, BS8484 and Secured By Design accredited Alarm Receiving Centre for monitoring, assessment and response. This means that in the event of activation a full risk assessment can be made by BS7858 accredited personnel trained in victim support response protocols and acting within strict timescales. All device alerts, correspondence, event actions and voice communications to and from the ARC are digitally recorded by Procare and admissible as evidence in court.
The entire service also has in-built fail-safes that ensure data confidentiality and service integrity. Local control and incident management can also be passed to police controllers and Response Teams via Argyll’s comprehensive and secure Internet services.
The Outcome
Devon and Cornwall Police carried out rigorous testing for almost a year before finally accepting the service as fit for purpose. They released the following statement:
“Devon and Cornwall Police are proud to announce the launch of tracking mobile phones for victims of domestic abuse. It is believed that the police force is the first in the country to use the devices for police purposes. The phones are designed for high-risk victims of domestic abuse but can be used by any person at risk. They work by tracking the phone almost in real time.
The architect of their use is Paul Taylor, crime prevention officer for Exeter who spotted that victims being protected by home alarms wanted protection and reassurance outside of their houses. When the device is activated, not only can the client speak with an operator but it also can fix the location of that person using Google Earth which speeds help to their location.”
Sgt Richard Crosby said: “We are pleased to have 32 devices activated across Devon and have already received a successful activation by a victim.
Argyll’s engineers worked closely with us, developing the technology to ensure we got the right product. We also liaised closely with colleagues from our police call centre to ensure that any calls received were dealt with effectively to give the best service to the victim.
Tracking technology is traditionally expensive but this partnership with Argyll Telecom has brought state of the art equipment to officers and victims at minimal cost.
This is an incredible piece of work and has come about because of real partnership work between the funding community safety partnerships from East Devon, Exeter and West Devon and Argyll and the Islands Telecom.”
Further Information
For further information on Argyll’s Lone Worker Solutions:
