Police get budget money for first responder drones – but new tech won’t solve the issues facing UK forces

The recent budget announcement by the UK Government included £230 million set aside to fund new technology that can make policing more productive and efficient; but Professor John Coxhead of the University of East London argues that investing in drones over detectives and replacing bobbies with bots is not the right plan.
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I know how technology can improve police performance, but I’m concerned that the Government is rushing towards using public money for techno gimmicks to justify years of cuts to vital services.

At a time when UK taxpayers are contributing record-high levels to public services, there is little to show for it when it comes to police and crime prevention. There are record lows in public confidence in police, and very poor criminal justice outcomes.

This is due to a lack of investment in recruiting, retaining, training and deploying the best people in policing. But instead of earmarking more money for these, the Government has announced £230 million in the budget for money-saving technology for police, including drones to deploy as a first response to some 999 calls.

Lees verder via policinginsight.com

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