Rutland and Leicestershire Police are using US technology to speed up some of their activities.

They are deploying the NICE Investigate Digital Investigation and Digital Evidence Management solution across its force of 1,800 officers, following a successful pilot test.

Leicestershire Police will use NICE Investigate to digitally transform processes around collecting, analyzing and sharing evidence, to drive improved efficiency, time savings, cross-agency collaboration and better justice outcomes.

Allan Graham, Project Manager for Leicestershire Police, said: ""NICE Investigate has exceeded our expectations.Prior to having NICE Investigate, getting body worn video and CCTV footage to the Crown Prosecution Service fast enough to obtain a remand decision was simply not possible.

"We had to copy evidence onto CDs, DVDs, and USB drives and then hand-deliver those materials. Increased wait times meant suspects were often bailed or released under investigation before they could be charged. With new national requirements now mandating that all digital evidence be shared electronically, NICE Investigate has helped us forge a better way forward."

Chris Wooten, Executive Vice President, NICE, said: "Police forces around the world are turning to digital transformation solutions like NICE Investigate, not just to save money and time, but also to improve justice outcomes and ensure safer communities. We applaud Leicestershire Police for taking this big step forward and setting an example for other forces to follow within their own practices."

As a one-stop solution for digital evidence management, NICE Investigate improves operational efficiency by enabling investigators to collect evidence through a single login.

NICE Investigate automatically pulls evidence from the force's NicheRMS Records Management System, STORM Command and Control system and Body Worn Video system, into an electronic case folder. Investigators simply log on to NICE Investigate where their evidence is waiting. Officers involved in the pilot reported significant efficiency gains and time savings.

NICE Investigate also improves collaboration on joint investigations with neighboring forces through the automated collection and electronic sharing of digital evidence.

As an example, Leicestershire Police cited a case involving CCTV video. Instead of driving to the crime location, securing the video, making a copy of it and then physically transporting it to the other force, investigators were able to complete the entire end-to-end process of securing and sharing the video from their desks within half an hour.

NICE Investigate is currently being used by more than 50,000 investigators and police officers around the world.

The NICE website can be found here.