A computer system to speed up recovery of damaged vehicles from roads is being used by West Midlands Police.
ELVIS–VR (the Easy Link Vehicle Information System for Vehicle Recovery) is designed to help organisations deal with problem vehicles – be they stolen, abandoned, involved in accidents or used in crime.
The new software system is suitable, it is claimed, for any multi-agency car clear scheme involving local authorities, police, fire brigades and vehicle recovery operators, saving them time and money, the makers claim.
For many police forces and councils, keeping track of vehicles that fall within their responsibility can be a laborious and expensive process, it is claimed, particularly if vandals get to the vehicle before the removal agent or if ownership cannot be established.
Developed by Bristol-based WPC Software, ELVIS-VR speeds up communications between the agencies involved by reducing the need for paperwork, the firm claims. It notifies removal agents automatically and records all information about a vehicle’s subsequent removal and the nature of its disposal.
ELVIS-VR will also be integrated with the West Midlands command and control system to improve communications between all parties involved in vehicle recovery. This two-way interface will automatically push data into ELVIS-VR to start an enquiry and will update command and control with the latest information about a particular vehicle.
What they say
Insp Gary Bullock, of the Roads Policing, Operations Department at West Midlands Police, said: "ELVIS has made it possible to take the vehicle recovery scheme back in-house with minimal staffing by fully interfacing with our command and control system.
"For the first time we will have real-time information available on the status and location of every vehicle seized by our force. Not only will ELVIS improve the service we provide to the public by releasing their vehicle to them quicker, but also greatly assist in crime pattern analysis."
Dan LeBrun, WPC Software’s business manager for ELVIS-VR, said: "With the high volume of vehicles falling under the responsibility of West Midlands Police we are expecting to see large time savings by reducing the bureaucratic and paper-based processes between the police and the vehicle contractors."
