Extreme weather pushes mobility device transactions to one million (plus picture)

Police have hit the 1 million transaction mark using mobility devices as the national rollout of iPhones and iPads nears its conclusion.

Deputy Commissioner Mike Bush says the 1 million mark highlights how staff have embraced the new technology and says the devices have more than proved their value during the current storm hitting Wellington.

"Police staff have been able to wi-fi our operational picture to other agencies we work alongside to prioritise or close incidents when other agencies were attending. It has provided them with a better picture of their operating environment.

"It has also assisted the Wellington District Command Centre to adjust staff deployment as new events unfolded."

"Our staff in Hutt Valley have used the devices to monitor the flow and dispatch of critical jobs as they were coming in, tap into appropriate websites and have live updates on rainfall and flooding issues.

"Mobility provides the ability to have a better grasp of the Critical Command Information we need to carry out our job, it's enabled us to deploy our staff in the right place at the right time.

"That's what mobility is all about," says Deputy Commissioner Bush.

The rollout of iPhones and iPads to frontline staff began in April, and the district rollout is due to end on 5 July.

When it is complete, approximately 6500 frontline officers will have an iPhone, and 3900 of those, with more complex data entry requirements, will also have the use of an iPad.

-Ends-

Editors note: a police iphone screenshot of jobs in the Hutt Valley taken at 21.28 last night is available on the police website www.police.govt.nz

Photo caption: A Police iPhone screen shot of weather-related incidents in the Hutt Valley taken at 21.28 on Thursday night. The numbered tags show priority codes - P1 being the highest.

Issued by:
Grant Ogilvie
PNHQ media team
04 474 9476