Gloucestershire Police Partners with Converge

Gloucestershire Constabulary improved policing efficiency by partnering with Converge to modernise IT, introducing tools including touchscreen laptops and upgraded AV while supporting ongoing innovation and performance.

As one of the oldest rural police forces in Britain, Gloucestershire Constabulary cover 1000 square miles, including the Cotswolds, the Royal Forest of Dean, the Severn Vale and urban centres of Cheltenham and Gloucester. The force employs around 2,400 staff which work across a HQ in Gloucester and a network of smaller police stations across the county.

Service Desk and End User Services Manager Garry Whitehouse has worked for the police for over 32 years and seen how IT has developed over the decades.

He said: “Our officers and staff are delivering an essential service to the local communities and it’s vital they have the correct devices to allow them to do their jobs effectively. Currently, we are seeing a welcome investment in IT, which allows our policing colleagues to improve their performance. The End User Service team are very much involved in that, and we have a voice in looking at how things may work in the future. It’s an exciting time.”

Providing the right tools to get the job done

Garry says that when dealing with external providers while price is important, working with reliable partners who share the same values is just as valid.

“I am responsible for ‘cradle to grave life cycle’ of all our hardware. I must plan for the here and now, and of course, for the future,” he said. “We don’t want to waste public money, and so I’m always looking to improve what we have and replace kit that comes out of warranty and doesn't meet our needs. And that's where Converge really helps.”

Converge prides itself on getting to know its clients’ needs and works with them throughout the entirety of a project, to offer a range of additional value-added services to ensure everything runs smoothly. They advise on the latest upgrades and models available and offer the chance to test-run the new kit to ensure it works for the business.  

Garry explains how important it is to have the right kit for police and PCSO colleagues and one of the force’s key corporate strategies is to ‘provide our workforce with the right tools to do their jobs; the right kit and the appropriate training and supporting technology.’

Garry explains: “Not so long ago, it was common for officers to have to attend a scene or incident and take statements by hand – or ask people to come into the station to take statements on a desktop”

Garry then had the idea to look at a laptop with touchscreen technology: “Our preferred laptops are Lenovo but Converge were able to recommend Lenovo laptops with touch screen functionality.

Now people can use the touch screen apps to take live statements, and that saves time for our officers and for the public. Statements and notes can be done live on the scene and people can also digitally sign them. Similarly, staff working in the custody suite previously had to keep going backwards and forward from cells to desktop to keep updating, now they will do everything live. It will a huge difference in terms of time saved and efficiency for everyone.”

Converge also provides secure bonded warehousing, helping to overcome the team’s limited on-site storage by holding equipment offsite and giving Garry the flexibility to access stock whenever it’s needed as part of a fully integrated, end-to-end IT solution.

Game changing AV

The force has recently upgraded its AV devices and Garry says with Converge’s help and recommendations, it has been a game-changer. “Our previous hardware frequently let us down during meetings or even a simple presentation. There was a total lack of third-party support with the supplier, and it made us look unprofessional.”

Converge recommended Yealink for a flexible and reliable experience to suit every meeting space. They came on site, looked and listened to the needs of the business, provided documentation and gave presentations to ensure Garry and his team selected the right kit for their needs. Personnel are very pleased with the new equipment which to date has only been installed in several executive rooms.

Garry adds: “We are very pleased with how intuitive this is to use and how easy it is to use the ancillaries. It’s a case of pressing a button, and you are off. Our end users have given us very positive feedback. We will slowly build up the kit across our estate, which will make doing day-to-day business, presentations and MS Teams meetings so much easier. This is yet another example of Converge building a relationship which gives us confidence to choose a solution that works.”

A refreshing relationship

The development of AI offers opportunities for the police force to improve more efficiencies; however, Garry knows that for it to be effective, he needs the right hardware in place.

Garry adds: “Converge has its finger on the pulse of new developments, and they regularly present a roadmap of what's coming up. This gives us ideas and fresh thoughts about what we can maybe put in place for the future and what needs to be replaced. They are an additional sounding board for ideas and plans, which has proved invaluable.

“It’s refreshing to have a genuine relationship with an external provider. It’s not just about providing a quote and then walking away, Converge genuinely care about the solutions they offer and look at how we can work together to make things happen. I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else.”