Android delivers secure AI innovation to West Midlands Police

Editor's note: Today's post is by Gregg Hudson, Mobility and Automation Manager for West Midlands Police, responsible for the safety of nearly three million residents in the West Midlands region of England.

To serve the community, West Midlands Police officers need to be out in the community as often as possible, gathering and sharing information to help protect citizens. The mobile device fleet must support goals for security of sensitive data, as well as improving officer productivity.

My department identified Android Enterprise as the solution that provided the ease of management, security and compatibility needed to solve the challenges law enforcement officers face in the field every day. The comprehensive capabilities of Android Enterprise fully managed devices, combined with support from Android Enterprise Gold Partners, including managed service providers (MSPs) such as Vodafone, have enabled the force to surpass its mobility ambitions. With Android's advanced security and the integration of new AI-driven enterprise capabilities, Android Enterprise is set to be the enduring platform for the West Midlands Police Department.

Protecting citizens and evidence

Police departments are entrusted with the collection and secure management of large amounts of highly sensitive data - not only to maintain citizen privacy, but also to preserve evidence so it can be admitted in court during trials. In addition to all transmissions on fully managed Android Enterprise devices being end-to-end encrypted within the police department, the department deploys private certificates for applications that are automatically revoked if a device has been tampered with. Limiting app downloads through use of the Managed Google Play store provides additional safeguards against unauthorized app downloads.

West Midlands Police maintains total control of the tech stack, using Android's open-source nature to build robust solutions with direct API integration for many use cases. Additionally, the OS and applications are always quickly updated through the chosen priority mode for apps. In fact, we consider Android Enterprise to be one of the most secure solutions the department could have chosen. With complete control of hardware features and data loss prevention, there are no issues with meeting the high bars set by our external security advisors.

Productivity gains for both employees and IT

West Midlands is on the brink of a transformative era as AI becomes increasingly prevalent in the workplace. By adopting AI across the organization, the force anticipates unlocking remarkable productivity gains for officers and staff. AI on Android makes it simple to reimagine a future where procedural guides, currently based on time-consuming, multi-query decision trees, are more efficient and user-friendly. Our technology team sees potential in enhancing these workflows with the power of Gemini and NotebookLM, creating a more streamlined, intuitive, and efficient process for our teams on the ground. This won't be just an incremental improvement, it is a leap forward in how teams access critical information and operate with newfound speed and clarity.

The collaborative potential of AI and our pre-installed custom applications is poised to significantly enhance officer and staff productivity. West Midlands Police leaders envision a future where officers can instantly and securely access police records and critical procedural guidance directly through their Android Enterprise devices. This will empower them to spend less time on administrative tasks at the station and more time engaging with citizens in the community, ultimately fostering stronger public service.

Complementing these advancements, the inherent manageability of Android Enterprise further streamlines IT operations and significantly reduces support demands, which is crucial for a team supporting 14,000 employees across dozens of diverse roles. The use of the Android Enterprise OEMConfig tool allows us to easily set security and functionality policies, linking them to Active Directory groups or custom configurations. This has dramatically streamlined the process for deploying new devices and reassigning existing ones, reducing the time required to provision a device from three hours to a mere 15 minutes.

Beyond deployment, Android Enterprise has also led to a significant reduction in support requests; where previously 80% were problem-related and 20% were feature requests, today that ratio has shifted to 60-70% feature requests, reflecting significantly fewer issues.

Serving the community with partners

West Midlands Police has seen first-hand that establishing and managing a mobile fleet of our scale requires close collaboration with skilled MSPs and suppliers. The police force's commitment to this partnership approach is so strong that MSPs are now required to obtain Gold Certified Partner status, a distinction that long-standing partner Vodafone has just achieved. This ensures the police force remains deeply integrated into the broader Android Enterprise ecosystem, leveraging every advantage for staff and officers by helping to guarantee best-in-class product validation, advanced technical expertise, and superior customer service directly endorsed by Google.

For over a decade, West Midlands Police, with its 14,000+ officers, has partnered with Vodafone on a vital digital transformation. This collaboration has created an agile workforce and significantly enhanced public service by delivering secure, real-time data connectivity and comprehensive managed services via Vodafone's network-a network also trusted by 77% of UK emergency services for its speed and security. Now, officers can instantly capture witness statements or crime scene evidence directly on their devices, reducing administrative paperwork and allowing them to focus more on direct community engagement.

Ready to elevate your enterprise mobility? Browse the Android Enterprise Solutions Directory to find validated Silver and Gold Certified Partners who are proven experts in securing and managing your business's mobile fleet.

• Android Enterprise