Telecoms giant Vodafone has announced that New Zealand Police has chosen Vodafone New Zealand as its partner for mobile communications in a 10-year fully outsourced deal.

The company will provide the police with customised mobile services and smartphones, with a total of NZ$159m to be spent on the technology over the next decade.

The initial cost of the roll-out is NZ$4.3m.

Vodafone New Zealand Chief Executive Officer, Russell Stanners, said: "We are pleased to be partnering with New Zealand Police to help them realise their mobility goals.

"Vodafone invests over $100m a year in our network in New Zealand and this year's investment programme, focused on delivering speeds up to twice as fast through 42Mb/s technology, means our customers - including Police - can do what they need to do, faster with the latest technology. This will deliver an outcome that directly benefits the security and safety of New Zealand communities."

The technology will enable more than 6,000 frontline response, investigation and community Police officers to securely access information about suspects, vehicles and locations while on the move. Almost 4,000 of these officers who need to undertake more complex data entry as part of their job will also be provided with a tablet.

Use of the devices will mean frontline staff gain 30 minutes productivity per shift, which equates to approximately 520,000 hours each year - the equivalent of about 345 frontline officers. The expected time savings of 30 minutes per officer per shift will be reinvested into preventative policing activities.

NR

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