Apple CarPlay is a great platform that is hamstrung by two things: a lack of ongoing improvement by Apple and support across a broad array of apps. Motorola Solutions’ PSCore software, which enables law enforcement teams to have visibility of data such as incident management, situational alerts and critical notifications has been bolstered with a new capability – Incident Management for Apple CarPlay.
Western Australia Police Force can now conduct faster and better-informed investigations and road policing through the addition of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) within Motorola Solutions’ PSCore mobile application. Importantly, this information is now displayed through CarPlay. This vastly simplifies and reduces the cost of equipping police vehicles as there’s no need to install additional equipment including screens and brackets.
Superintendent Dean Snashall, Technology Portfolio, WA Police Force says, “Real-time ANPR [Automatic Number Plate Recognition] data helps to ensure that front-line officers are more aware of potential risks and able to make better decisions. This latest evolution of Motorola Solutions’ PSCore application helps our officers to document incidents faster and more accurately, freeing more of their time to protect our communities.”
The expanded app has been deployed in more than 80 police vehicles while the PSCore app has been deployed across WA Police Force’s entire fleet of more than 6,000 mobile devices and integrates critical operational information from multiple systems, presenting it through a single, intuitive interface. The solution represents a key part of the force’s digital policing strategy to leverage technology to improve productivity, incident awareness and safety for officers and the public.
PSCore is a multi-platform system that works on tablets, computers and smartphones.
The PSCore mobile app has provided WA Police Force with greater capabilities to respond to a wider variety of incidents including family violence incidents. This capability has since been automated to publish family violence reports in real-time to the Department of Communities, accelerating referrals to support agencies for victims while police are in attendance at the scene.
Some years ago, when I was reporting for Macworld Australia, I wrote about how iPad mini was being used as in-car systems by police forces. At the time, Apple noted that one of the reasons the iPad mini was not seeing substantial changes was because it was being used as an embedded device by police forces, in warehouses and in other niche applications.
With CarPlay now a standard feature in almost every modern car, it makes sense for in-vehicle deployments to leverage that technology rather than finding mounting solutions for external screens.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.