NICE UK kicked off the year recently with its annual UK NICE User Group (NUG) meeting held at the Sketchley Grange Hotel near Leicester. Senior Police Officers and Project Managers representing 18 police forces and agencies across England and Wales came together with NICE to share their experiences and updates. Founded in 2019, the UK NUG fosters innovation by providing a forum for NICE Investigate customers to collaborate on best practices for managing digital evidence.
The day started with a welcome and introductions from NUG Chair Jason Devonport, Temp. Chief Superintendent, North Wales Police, followed by a strategic update from NICE, and a first look at the new features coming to NICE Investigate in the next release.
After a short coffee break, South Wales Police, Lancashire Constabulary and Nottinghamshire Police all delivered presentations, on topics ranging from the benefits of automated evidence sharing with the CPS to the opportunities digital evidence management brings to covert policing and operations.
The afternoon sessions continued on the theme of digital evidence sharing best practices with Leicestershire Police and Thames Valley Police jointly presenting on the impact of the NPCC’s ( National Police Chiefs’ Council) new guidance around digital and physical evidence retention.
The day concluded with a progress update from the various NUG police subgroup chairs.
Planning for The Future
“It’s fantastic to see the work of one force igniting a spark of inspiration to help other forces overcome similar challenges they’re facing,” said Al Stringer, Principal Client Relationship Manager, NICE. “Our NUG meetings bring together NICE Investigate users of all levels and experiences. A Project Manager from one force in the early stages of its digital evidence management journey can sit alongside a Superintendent and Digital Futures Lead from a more experienced force, and leverage their experiences and best practices to achieve a quicker and more successful implementation. I’ve even seen chance conversations over coffee spark innovative ideas about how to address common challenges!”
Additionally, the NUG provides a platform for forces to share their successes and innovations. For example, one police force (a long-standing NICE Investigate user) shared their plans for expanding digital evidence management into new realms by integrating new data sources, including drone footage.
Another NUG attendee highlighted how NICE Investigate’s ability to help the public submit dashcam footage has positively impacted his force’s investigative effectiveness. This was validated by a Detective Sergeant from the same force, who affirmed they had “used the system to secure charges with the CPS only the week before.”
Away from the NUG meeting room, this year I also had the pleasure of interviewing a number of representatives from various forces on camera. Each representative spoke at length about their use of NICE Investigate and how it’s helping them address the challenges of modern policing. I look forward to sharing these new videos with you in the coming weeks when they’re ready.
In the meanwhile, if you want to learn more, you can visit our YouTube channel. Here you can watch videos we recorded at last year’s annual NUG meeting, featuring Northamptonshire Police, Cleveland Police, Thames Valley Police and Leicestershire Police.
Next meeting
Plans are already underway for our next NUG meeting later this year. If you’re interested in attending or simply want to learn more feel free to reach out to me at Jamie.Wilson@nice.com.