Halton Police first in Ontario to transition from paper to electronic notes

Halton Regional Police have become the first police agency in the province, and only second in Canada, to adopt electronic notes (eNotes).

The application transitions members from traditional-based notes to electronic notes

Approximately one-third of HRPS members have already received extensive training and successfully transitioned to eNotes using the Smart Squad application by Faction Four Systems Inc on Service-issued cellphones.

All members of the force will be fully trained by early 2022.

“Note-taking in the policing sector has not evolved in over 100 years, and we are proud to be adopting technology that the newest generation of officers expect and want,” says Deputy Chief Roger Wilkie. “This is just one of the latest ways the HRPS is striving to optimize effectiveness and efficiency by purposefully harnessing innovative technology.”

The HRPS says the eNotes application, which has been customized and optimized to contain features that they recognizes as key to policing operations, provides unparalleled efficiencies to officers on patrol.

No longer constrained by limitations of paper notes or tied to the computer in their cruisers, officers are now more mobile. They can also now access and add to police databases and record systems from anywhere. Further, eNotes equips officers with a secure way to obtain audio statements and take supplementary photos or recordings.

All of these new functions are bolstered by heightened transparency and credibility to officer notes, with time-stamped entries and increased legibility.

The HRPS says that the efficiencies and time savings created by eNotes will allow officers more opportunity to focus on operations and community safety.