Cambridgeshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Sir Graham Bright, has welcomed the second phase of funding towards Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s Operation Metis programme.

The Home Office handed over £1.55 million in January and this second phase brings the total to more than £8 million.

The funding, from the Home Office Innovation Fund, will be used to roll out Operation Metis, the Cambridgeshire programme aimed at using technology to increase the time officers spend out in their communities.

The bid was jointly submitted with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire constabularies and will be delivered across all three forces.

Sir Graham Bright said: “This is a pioneering project that will benefit the people of

Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire. The money will be used to modernise and transform the way police services are delivered.

“The first phase of funding allowed us to start trialling the equipment, a trial which has been extremely successful. This new funding will allow us to roll out the technology across the three forces.

“The money will let us use technology to maximise the time officers spend out in their communities and help provide a more efficient, value for money service.”

Chief Constable Simon Parr said: “Metis was launched to modernise the way Cambridgeshire police do business, to keep officers on the frontline for longer and improve our service to the public.

“Part of this work includes the publicised roll out of slates to frontline officers. Early results show this is allowing each of them to spend an extra hour per day on the frontline.

“We are extremely pleased to have been successful in this bid. This funding will enable us to transform our forces in a way that commercial businesses have been doing for many years.”