The roll out of this app is an integral part of the wider Operation Hampshire programme in the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS), which is led by Oscar Kilo through the College of Policing.
The aim of the Op Hampshire programme is to achieve a more consistent approach across the UK with all forces adopting similar processes in their response to assaults.
The new app, developed in partnership between the National Police Wellbeing Service, the Police Digital Service, Agilisys and Microsoft, will support this and is now available to all forces, free of charge.
All forces already record details of incidents of assault, but this app will allow them to continue to capture the relevant details quickly and ensure consistency in the data recorded.
Assaults data will still be owned and managed at force level, and forces will still lead the local response to incidents following the Op Hampshire process, ensuring officers and staff are supported and relevant actions are taken.
It will also provide a deeper understanding of the true levels of violence used against officers and staff and bring the data together to provide a national overview.
This will help to identify specific issues and provide an evidence base to make decisions, and support forces to adapt training, equipment and procedures.
Chief Inspector Dave Brewster, Op Hampshire Coordinator for the NPWS said;
This is a really significant step in our journey in supporting forces with adoption of Operation Hampshire and providing the tools they need to be able to accurately and consistently record incidents of assaults on their officers and staff. The wellbeing of officers and staff is absolutely at the heart of this and there has never been a greater opportunity or need to address this issue, and, to actually make a change in the way we record these incidents and provide officers and staff with the support they deserve.
CEO of the College of Policing, Andy Marsh said;
No officer or staff member should have to face an assault doing their job, but we know many do every day. By making these assaults more visible and tracking the support that is provided through the app, we hope to better support officers and staff and ensure they get the care they need. The app will also help us build a deeper understanding and insight in the circumstances of how these assaults happen, so that we can take action to prevent them in the future. I’m really pleased to see technology and data being able to play a part in protecting officers and staff and addressing an important issue in policing.
Ian Bell of Police Digital Services said;
This is a fantastic example of delivering the National Police Digital Data and Technology Strategy, as it means not only are forces able to leverage the same core technology, but also build a better data set which means we can address harm more effectively.
Belinda Goodwin – Wellbeing Secretary for the Police Federation of England & Wales said;
The PFEW are long standing advocates of Operation Hampshire and the continuing work to improve the support provided to our colleagues who are subjected to violence. The ability to capture a national picture of police assaults is long overdue and we have been following the development of the Police Assaults Data app with interest. We firmly believe that this roll-out is an incredible step forward in how we look at police assaults and will deliver a consistent national picture. There is strength in numbers, and we are keen to see all forces to adopt the app at the earliest opportunity. We stand ready to work with forces to ensure they maximise the benefits of this opportunity.
Webinar and further guidance
A 30 minute webinar was held on 9th March, which introduced the context for developing the app, provided a demonstration of the app and a live Q and A in the chat function.
If you missed the webinar and you’re interested in finding out more – you can re-watch it here.
To support forces in adopting the app into their organisation, IT teams can download the application direct from the NEP/PDS Solutions Catalogue, which also contains the user guides and relevant documentation they need.
The App is deployed to the force using their local Microsoft 365 environment, as all forces who have achieved full rollout of the National Enabling Programme have a compatible platform.