Findings from a UK police digital experience survey published by Policing Insight in partnership with the NPCC, Police Federation, Home Office, and Police Digital Service offer a detailed look at how officers and staff view the technology they rely on every day. Across more than 8,000 respondents, nearly half reported dissatisfaction with the technology used across their force, while 16% said their systems were well integrated.
The consistent feedback across roles and ranks makes this survey particularly valuable. More than 35,000 individual comments describe environments where information needs to be re-entered across systems, platforms do not share data effectively, workflows feel misaligned with operational reality, and training varies significantly.
The report ties these problems to fragmented and often outdated technology, poor process design, and insufficient investment, made worse by weak interoperability and limited user involvement in how tools are designed. It links these issues directly to workforce stress, sickness absence, and in some cases impact on investigations and judicial outcomes.
What Officers Are Actually Asking For
The survey is also constructive. Officers and staff are clear about what they need: better integration between systems, simpler and more intuitive interfaces, reliable access to accurate information, ongoing support, and a stronger voice in shaping the tools they use.
A Different Approach to Delivering Technology
These are challenges we have spent years working to solve, influenced directly by former police officers who themselves understand first-hand the realities, pressures, and frustrations of the job. That perspective is built into how the platform is shaped and continues to evolve.
Designed as a unified system from the outset, the platform brings information together within a single Records Management System (RMS), so data entered once is available wherever it is needed. No duplicate entry, no reconciling records across disconnected systems, and less risk of information being lost between processes.
Early feedback highlights meaningful reductions in time spent completing routine reports and forms, particularly where information only needs to be entered once. For officers, that shift is immediate. Less time spent on administration creates more capacity for frontline activity, investigations, and supporting victims.
Improvements in how records are linked and managed also play an important role. More reliable ways of merging and reconciling information reduce duplication and help ensure that intelligence and case data remain accurate and complete.
Ease of use is equally critical. In early demonstrations, experienced specialists have noted that the system is intuitive enough that an officer could begin using it with minimal instruction. That level of usability reduces reliance on extensive training and supports faster adoption across teams.
In practice, that approach to design is recognised by those using it. We have also heard from officers and staff that the system feels like it has been designed with their input, not imposed on top of their work.
User-centred design is built into how the product is developed. Close collaboration with officers and staff ensures it continues to reflect operational reality, and support does not stop at implementation.
Proven in UK Policing
The challenges in this report are not theoretical. They reflect the realities of UK policing structures, data sovereignty requirements, and the day-to-day demands placed on forces.
What we consistently see is that moving from fragmented systems to a single, integrated platform changes more than workflow. It also shifts expectations, as officers and staff begin to trust that the technology will support them rather than slow them down. When systems work as they should, confidence starts to return.
If this is the reality in your force, it is time to expect more. See what modern policing technology should feel like at www.mark43.com/uk.
Source: Policing Insight, “Officers and staff call for better IT integration, training and user input in new UK police digital experience survey” (2025).
