In a multicultural, multimedia society, it is vital that you are able to interact effectively with your citizens and communities. This means providing a full range of contact channels that are accessible to all of the people, all of the time.

The public have increasingly high expectations of service from the police. When telephoning forces, for example, they no longer find it acceptable to be transferred around headquarters or to several police stations in order to get a matter resolved. They expect a resolution at the first point of contact, and ideally through the channel of their choice (e.g., phone, SMS, email and web). In addition, keeping the public informed about police progress gives them added confidence that their concerns are being acted upon, and of course ease of contact is vital in the areas of community and neighbourhood policing.

We’ve worked with many police forces on all aspects of CRM and citizen engagement. The solutions we offer include: intelligent call routing, which ensures that calls are delivered to agents with the appropriate skill sets; multi-channel applications, managed contact centre and integration services; our SmartNumbers service is a key enabler to effective neighbourhood policing initiatives, and our first contact solution facilitates accurate and auditable dialogue with those who do not speak English as their first language.

Capturing and using information effectively in the police

Faster and smarter information access

This is not just about providing a range of contact options. It’s also about ensuring that information you receive can be used more effectively. BT’s customer contact expertise can be applied to all your interactions with the public to help you respond quickly and efficiently.

Electronically capturing, organising and cross-referencing data, for example, can offer several benefits. You can easily access information on any individual or case, automate simple responses, and provide a personalised service when people contact you. In addition, the SMS e-mail and Internet options can also encourage contact from those who aren’t comfortable using the telephone or meeting face-to-face. The convenience and relative anonymity of electronic communication can also yield vital information and empower people to report criminal activity without fear of repercussions.

Communicate with non-English speakers

Effective policing strategies for a multilingual society

Britain is a melting pot of different nationalities and cultures. As public servants, police officers must be able to provide the same quality of service to everyone, regardless of where they’re from, or what language they speak.

Whether you need to question somebody about an incident, deal with an inquiry or make an arrest, everyday situations can become complex when different languages are involved. Obviously, it would be impossible for every officer to speak every language, and interpreters are not always available on short notice. This is why BT has developed a range of tools and technologies that enable multi lingual communication, and also saving you save time and money when dealing with non-English speakers, by enabling direct, auditable, non-ambiguous two-way communication. Our First Contact solution can enable you to quickly identify the nationality and language of a caller or someone you wish to interview, it will then allow you to ask relevant questions and record responses in a clear and unambiguous manner, whether face-to-face in the station, on the beat, or in their homes, or on the telephone. 

And by using solutions such as Smart numbers you can ensure that communities have their own dedicated contact points where they can be pout through directly toi someone based in their community who understands their issues.

Generate smart customer interactions in the police

Provide fast, efficient, personalised service to your citizens

To improve efficiency, you need to be able to intelligently use data gathered from contacts with citizens to enhance and personalise the service given across multiple channels, such as telephone, Internet, SMS and email. Information must be accurate and your responses fast. Our Generating Smart Customer Interactions (GSCI) is a suite of customer intelligence products and consultancy services designed to help you more clearly understand citizen needs, and to provide flexible and efficient services, accessible through multiple channels. The result is a more flexible, accessible customer experience, which can help improve your quality of engagement.

Make your contact centre engagement more efficient in the police

Meet the needs of your citizens and your organisation

Your citizens want you to be more responsive, and available to them through a wider range of channels – but you need to optimise the cost of your contact centre operations. How do you achieve these apparently conflicting aims at the same time?

Taking a holistic approach to citizen interaction is the only way to meet the needs of your citizens and your organisation. With BT you can combine your contact resources into a single, multi-channel interface: one that scales easily to meet changing contact volumes, provides a unified view of citizen interactions, and gives you an efficient way to maximise the productivity of you contact handling resource across your organisation.

BT is a recognised leader in contact centre transformation, with a wider range of hosted and premise-based capabilities than any other provider.

Multi level citizen access in the police

To effectively tackle crime and disorder, provide an effective service and build public confidence, the police service should be available and accessible 24/7, not just for emergencies. Whether someone wants to report a crime, pass on information or make an enquiry, they need to know that they can do so easily, and that their concerns are taken seriously. They should feel confident that the person dealing with them will be able to help without passing them from pillar to post.

Options such as non-emergency (0300) numbers and BT SmartNumbers, as well as SMS, email options and Internet sites give the public the opportunity to make enquiries or report concerns or crimes at a time and via a method that suits their circumstances.

BT SmartNumbers can also enable single numbers to be set up for specific requirements, such as particular crimes, neighbourhoods and other tasks, ensuring that those that answer have the right knowledge or language abilities. It enables those with a community policing role to always be available without having to pass over a mobile at the end of a shift, or publish several different numbers – one number – through to the right person, day or night.