Choosing Connect to support Service Policing

With their previous records management software in need of an upgrade, the Service Police chose Connect to support the whole justice system. Their ambition was for a resilient and interoperable solution that could meet the needs of policing in the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force as well as the miliary courts and prosecuting authorities.

Training was identified as a key part of the implementation plan and was led by the project lead for Connect, Staff Officer Paula Foreshew. She worked closely with our training team to ensure the content was matched to the needs of different users. This included making adjustments for its use in military policing.

Creating digital and face to face training

Our Connect training team, led by Richard Hardie, developed a mix of digital learning packages and in-person sessions, including:

• System admin training
• “Master training” for 10 leads from the different Services
• Bite-sized digital learning materials accessible from our Learn.NEC platform
• Floor-walking services at a range of sites

Each session and digital learning journey was tailored to the needs of the different audiences in order to minimise training time. All users needed to complete one compulsory introduction module before accessing the system, with additional content available depending on the user’s role and level.

This flexibility was key to the success of the training programme, as Paula explains:

“NEC’s training team put a lot of effort into learning how the justice process differs in the Armed Services so they could incorporate it into their training material. It made a real difference to everyone’s learning experience because the examples reflected the Service Justice System world. In civilian policing, for example, crime is often reported through 999 calls, but in the Services it’s as likely to come from a Commanding Officer. NEC’s team showed real attention to detail and as a result, kept everyone’s attention.”

Smooth go-live with more to come

Connect is now live for police users in all three Services, with the courts and prosecuting authorities getting ready to go live in 2024. Paula believes the smooth implementation so far is due to a combination of Connect’s intuitive design and the quality of the training delivered by Richard and his team.