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Streamlining evidence at Norfolk Constabulary
Dawn Read talks to Dave Rust, Norfolk Constabulary and Andrew Small, Unisys about M3 and how the system is helping the force to streamline its audio and video evidence...
Last month, Norfolk Constabulary became one of the first police forces to install the Unisys M3 solution to streamline the indexing and storage of vast amounts of multimedia evidence captured, creating a central repository for digital evidence.
The M3 solution, developed in conjunction with Reveal media and extensive end-user consultation, including the Holmes 2 user Group Executive, allows police to efficiently and effectively cluster the burgeoning range and volume of multimedia footage that police investigations require. Today, such footage can include helicopter surveillance videos, CCTV recording, taped phone conversations, recorded interview footage and digital photographs.
Sourcing, storing, retrieval and reproduction of photographic and video evidence for case files and court briefings is currently a resource intensive part of crime investigations. The M3 solution streamlines this entire process and ensures that evidence can be easily and rapidly retrieved. Furthermore, the solution allows the force to easily ‘back-up’ critical information and therefore quickly recover evidence in the event of a disaster recovery situation.
Talking about the system, Dave Rust, said, “The Unisys solution will enable us to create a common system for all multimedia evidence, so that Norfolk Constabulary can quickly copy and circulate any material in a cost and resource efficient manner. We are thrilled to be able to utilise M3 at an early stage and look forward to pushing the boundaries of major crime support.”
“Additionally, whereas video and audio material was traditionally stored for long periods of time and could deteriorate, the M3 solution solves this problem of source-matter degradation.”
Rust continued, “Last year we had to re-open a murder case from 1971. For the case, we held 280 archived photographs which took many man hours in looking through the images. Since we had M3 installed and fully integrated into Holmes2, we are now able to stream any media, documents, photographs, suspect interviews straight onto M3 and search that information, locating details within the hour as opposed to two weeks. Essentially, we can now conduct investigative research at an awesome speed.”
Any point of access
Evidence which is held on the network at Norfolk Constabulary can now be accessed at any given point. For instance, CCTV footage can be logged at certain points, with text references to allow easy and immediate access to the exact footage, as opposed to sitting through hours of video tape. Essentially, with virtually instant access to critical evidence, there is a more efficient use of police time and appropriate use of resources.
Furthermore, the ability to index, categorise all the metadata the retrieval and searches become far more intelligent.
Commenting, Andrew Small, project director, Justice & Public Safety, Unisys, explained, “Just one crime case involved the analysis of over 15,000 hours of video footage. It took the equivalent of 30 working days for court evidence to be prepared for another case. These statistics underpin the business need we identified for the Unisys and Reveal Media Solution, which will simplify and reduce the resource required for the management of multimedia evidence. Our M3 solution will enable police officers to focus more of their time on core policing activity.”
Working together
The multimedia management system in compatible with crime management system Holmes2, also created by Unisys. Holmes2, which has now been rolled out to 100% of Police forces across the UK is a criminal investigation system developed in conjunction with PITO. M3 and Holmes2, can work independently of one another, or more importantly can be fully integrated.
Installation and training
Installation of M3 took 4 days at Norfolk Constabulary, and the system was in actual fact running from day one. Rust explained that it was immediately linked to the force’s network to enable access force wide. However, the system does have levels of security, whereby users can either have total access (i.e. the ability not only to access and read the information held, but also if required edit it) to read only of certain parts. Therefore, these levels of security ensure that the information held can be totally secure.
Training was also delivered as part of the knowledge transfer to the force, which was conducted within the 4 day period. Rust added that since the system was so user friendly, user training took as little as one day.
Creating technology
“When creating technology for police forces, it is imperative that we work closely with our police colleagues to create a product that they want, need and can use for maximum benefit,” explained Small,
“Unisys has a strong tradition of working with every UK police force and so understands the enormous impact that current legislation regarding visual interviewing has had on their data management strategy. With the help of Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, we have created a product that not only helps police forces, such as Norfolk, capture, store and index vast amounts of multi media material, but offers a time saving method of cross referencing the material and highlighting the information of the most significance to each specific case.”
