COS National Direct Measures Solution Benefits

As of September 2022 PentiP has been fully implemented in all Local Policing Divisions. The introduction of a National Direct Measures Solution has provided a number of both qualitative and quantitative benefits which have been highlighted below:

Time Saving

Due to updated processes and a reduction in the requirement to print, copy, scan/type paper tickets into separate electronic systems, as well as a reduction in the requirement to quality assure tickets due to mandatory data fields at the point of ticket creation, driving efficiency and quality benefits by streamlining manual processes.

National Cadre of Criminal Justice staff

A National staffing model allows for cross divisional working creating flexibility, resilience and reducing administrative repetition. Staff will have the ability to update/amend tickets nationally and submit to SCTS regardless of their location. The ability to create a nationwide training programme for Staff throughout the Country will also ensure a national level of consistency.

Mandatory Ticket Data Fields on Mobile Device

Rigorous form validation and mandatory data fields/drop downs promote capturing the correct data at point of entry, ensuring ticket is fully complete prior to onward submission, reducing errors and risk of invalidity. This creates a lesser requirement for quality assurance by CTO staff who are now only expected to quality assure 5-10% of tickets.

Automated data transfer between systems

The API (Application Programming Interface) between Pronto & PentiP dramatically reduces the requirement to print, copy and scan/re-type paper tickets into a separate electronic system further reducing errors in transferring information from one system to another.

Nationwide Audit & Search capability

The ability to audit the trail of a ticket or search for any ticket nationwide, regardless of the location it was issued, along with an ability to quickly retrieve and view ticket content minimises the risk to tickets being lost or misdirected. This is also beneficial for reporting, allows analytics to be conducted, and ensures that the end to end process is followed correctly.

Proforma Templates

PentiP allows the loading and use of National pro-forma templates/letters when replying to members of the public’s queries. This reduces creation time, ensures professionalism and provides a greater level of uniformity across Scotland improving service delivery.

Improved Partnership Working

National visibility of all live tickets issued allows for quick, accurate and uniformed reporting of data to key stakeholders i.e. SPA, COPFS, and Scottish Government regardless of their department location within the country, ultimately creating better partnership working. Furthermore, the ability to quickly and directly send tickets to SCTS allows offenders to pay fines at earliest opportunity and in contrast reduces the amount of verdict data being returned to the organisation from the current 1 interaction per division (8) to 1 interaction nationally (1).

Removal of Paper – Environmental Benefits & GDPR Compliance

The ability to electronically send tickets between departments reduces the requirement to physically transfer paper tickets between base station and records office, saving staff time, reducing fuel costs and minimising risk of ticket loss. Further benefits of removal of hard-copy paper tickets include saving in procurement/purchase costs on ticket books and improving the environmental footprint of Police Scotland by reducing paper use (previously approx. 20,300 paper tickets per year were issued). The introduction of PentiP also assists in ensuring GDPR compliance by automatically weeding data and reducing potential for unauthorised sharing of data via ticket loss.

Decommissioning of Legacy Systems

Previously utilising three systems for recording Direct Measures and decommissioning of these will save annually on licensing and software updates. An £89k saving has already been identified as part of ongoing decommissioning work. This will further increase when the remaining legacy Direct Measures systems are decommissioned.

The benefits of a National, single, Direct Measures solution are clear to see, and are continuing to evolve as development on both National COS and PentiP progresses. The continued integration between PentiP and other COS systems will provide future benefits, especially to the public and partners, which require continued exploration and analysis.