Merseyside Police is responsible for crime prevention in several boroughs in the North of England. The policing area covers 253 square miles and a total of 46 neighbourhoods. In addition to criminal investigation, Merseyside Police is involved with areas such as family support and community race relations.

The Challenge: Secure, Mobile Access to Criminal Databases

Merseyside Police was keen to reduce administration for police officers and allow them to concentrate on preventing crime and anti-social behaviour by spending more time in local communities. To achieve this end, the force planted portable police stations in the areas where crimes are frequently committed. These complete mini-stations allow officers to carry out background checks and process arrests at the scene, drastically reducing travel and administrative time, and keeping officers on the beat. However, Merseyside Police were faced with the challenge of securely deploying the criminal database to these portable police stations, as well as enabling the stations to be moved quickly and easily while ensuring that no sensitive records could be lost or tampered with.

Implementing a Citrix Solution for Workforce Mobility

Christopher Pyne, IT Technical Manager at Merseyside Police, soon realised that wireless technology was the only way to equip the police stations with the necessary applications without hindering their portability. Merseyside Police worked together with Point to Point, a Platinum-level member of the Citrix Solutions Network™, to implement a wireless solution using Citrix® Presentation Server running over O2’s General Packet Radio System (GPRS) network. Each portable station is now equipped with four laptops that provide real-time access to the force’s Integrated Criminal Justice System (ICJS), allowing police officers to carry out all necessary administration without compromising security.

Information Access in the Heart of the Community

“Crime will always reduce in areas of high police activity, and these new police stations enable us to work directly in the heart of the communities we police,” said Sergeant Gary Fairbrother, Merseyside Police.  “Using mobile technology to give officers access to our central database supports this goal, and will help us to tackle drugs-related crime in Merseyside.”

“From a technical point of view, providing this access looked difficult to achieve,” said Pyne. “ICJS is a mainframe system with a Windows front end that is difficult to deploy over wireless networks.  But using Citrix Presentation Server over O2’s GPRS service, we have been able to roll out this system very quickly and effectively – with the added benefit that the data in our system is secure.”

When people from the local community visit the portable police stations, either to report crimes or to take part in investigations, officers at the station can easily access criminal records or file complaints. “Despite the fact that the applications are being used over wireless GPRS connections, the look and feel is exactly the same,” commented Pyne. “Because of this, we have also minimised the need for change and training.”

“The combination of Citrix technology and O2’s GPRS network has allowed us to meet our requirements. The wireless solution provides the force with rapid, secure access to vital information wherever the police station is planted - enabling us to support our local community and crack down on crime. There were 63 arrests processed over the first six weeks and over 400 visitors to the front desk of the station.  That could be both a mixture of 400 fewer 999 calls for non-urgent response and 400 more potential personal contacts.  Both very positive outcomes for local policing,” concluded Pyne.

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