TECHNOLOGY. By December, the National Gendarmerie will have issued nearly 60,000 smartphones to its officers. ‘Néogend’, this hyper-connected tool, is set to revolutionise the day-to-day work of gendarmes. It will take just a few clicks to check a person’s details and search their records.
According to our colleagues at the Dauphiné, The era of the digital police force has arrived. So, be prepared to see some changes the next time you’re stopped for a check. Following on from the dedicated tablet for each unit, the Néogend smartphone is now being rolled out in the field.
Following two trials carried out in the Nord department in 2015 and then across the Burgundy region in 2016, every gendarme is to be equipped with this new digital ‘weapon’, which will be carried alongside their Sig Sauer Pro 2022, their service weapon.
“The Néogend smartphone will fundamentally change the lives of police officers and the way they work. It is a genuine mobile office.”, announced General Richard Lizurey, Director-General of the National Gendarmerie, as quoted by our colleagues at the Dauphiné.
Rolled out over the last quarter as part of a training programme, the tool is designed to be simple and effective, whilst projecting a modern image of the gendarmerie.
As demonstrated by a test: “During a roadside check, the police officer uses their smartphone to scan the MRZ (machine-readable zone) on your identity card, passport or residence permit. It takes just a few seconds to remotely check the various databases, compared with 15 minutes in the past,” explains Lieutenant-Colonel Mickaël Fumery of the digital task force.