The Pronto app runs on smartphones and allows officers to record information on custom-designed electronic forms while in the field.

Notes and reports are automatically saved to the force’s online database, which means officers are no longer required to write and file reports after returning to the station.

Using the app allows a police force to reduce time spent processing information and improves data quality, by reducing errors and having mandatory fields and formats.

Pronto is already being used by 16 police forces across the UK, which have saved an estimated £18 million in 2016. Trials of the service showed that using the Pronto app to process 60,000 witness statements saved a total of 27,000 hours (27 minutes per statement) and £2.5 million (£42 per statement).

Pronto’s creator Kelvin Connect was spun out of the University of Glasgow in 2002. The company was acquired by Airwave in 2011, which was then acquired by Motorola in 2016.

Pronto is now part of  Motorola’s global Smart Public Safety Solution (MSPSS) portfolio, allowing the service to be rolled out to emergency services worldwide.

Campbell McClelland, one of the co-founders of Kelvin Connect is now head of delivery at Airwave Solutions. He says Motorola’s global reach is helping Pronto reach the thousands of police forces around the world.

“There is the financial benefit obviously, but there is also expertise. As part of MSPSS, we are starting to discuss what we do from a mobile data record management and workflow system perspective.”

Other companies within the Motorola group also offer synergy to the Pronto system. “I’ve literally just stepped out of a call with a colleague in Chicago and we’re talking about how we bring their functionality to the existing Pronto customer base in the UK, and vice-versa.”

The company’s office in Glasgow has tripled in size since the acquisition by Motorola. The number of engineering staff has doubled to 52 and further recruitment is underway.

“There is a lot of talent in Glasgow so we’re looking at it as a premium development centre,” said Karthik Sundaram, operations director, from Motorola Solutions.