Customer Case: Leicestershire Police

Leicestershire Police serves nearly one million people in the East Midlands. As part of its continuing review and improvement processes, the force reviewed its 999 emergency and non-emergency operations center. During the review operator headsets were evaluated and the decision was made to look at upgrades for this mission critical equipment.

The Challenge

There were two particular requirements: first that headsets should allow operators to ‘hot-desk’ from any PC workstation and second that headsets should provide a futureproof solution in the event that the force moves from desk phones to a PC based softphone system.


The Solution

We supplied 420 IMPACT DW headsets and 120 base units. Wearing comfort is a critical factor in a contact center environment where agents may be wearing the headset for several hours a day.

Our Silver Command team have six additional IMPACT DW headsets and can link in immediately to any call which is especially beneficial in a fast moving situation”

Jane Timms

Purchasing Manager - Leicestershire Police

Leicestershire Police serves nearly one million people in the East Midlands. As part of its continuing review and improvement processes, the force reviewed its 999 emergency and non-emergency operations center. During the review operator headsets were evaluated and the decision was made to look at upgrades for this mission critical equipment. There were two particular requirements: first that headsets should allow operators to ‘hot-desk’ from any PC workstation and second that headsets should provide a future-proof solution in the event that the force moves from desk phones to a PC-based softphone system.

Leicestershire Police requested a proposal and invited tenders from two other potential suppliers. We proposed our IMPACT DW Series wireless headsets, offering 180-meter line-of-sight range, 12 hours of talk time and fast charging, with 3 hours talk time in just 10 minutes – and full charge in 1 hour. This solution would also provide Leicestershire Police with PC integration when required and allow hot-desking due to the easy pairing feature whereby any IMPACT DW headset can be paired to any base station in seconds.

Jane Timms, Purchasing Manager at Leicestershire Police explains, “The IMPACT DW Series met the requirements but we had to be certain that a wireless headset solution would be completely reliable. In a situation where a caller is reporting an ongoing emergency with life or death consequences, we cannot have a communications failure.” The IMPACT DW Series was the Winner of Frost & Sullivan’s ‘Most Innovative European Communications Product of the Year’ award in 2012 and won two further UK telecoms industry awards in 2013. To counter reservations about a wireless solution, we proposed a 3-month live trial of six IMPACT DW headset units. “The trial ran perfectly and overcame our initial reservations so we went ahead with the order”, Jane confirms.

We supplied 420 IMPACT DW headsets and 120 base units. Wearing comfort is a critical factor in a contact center environment and the IMPACT DW headsets are available in a choice of single-sided, double-sided headband and ear-hook wearing styles to suit the needs of all users. “We chose double-sided headsets as the most appropriate for our operators.”

DW Pro 2
Headset chargers were built into operator lockers so at the end of a shift the headset is put on charge in the locker while the next operator pairs their headset to the base unit at the workstation. “With the previous wired headsets operators inadvertently took the base cable with them when they went off shift, but this is no longer the case.”

“Your staff tutored three members of each of our shift groups who then trained up the other operators. They also supplied full documentation inclu ding FAQs. It all went very smoothly,” says Jane.

The benefits
A major benefit has been with operator training. “Up to 4 IMPACT DW headsets can connect to 1 base unit so our instructors can train up to three operators at a time, without trailing wires.”

The IMPACT DW Series can pair a headset quickly to someone else’s base unit to monitor a call or join a conference call. “Our Silver Command team have 6 additional IMPACT DW headsets and can link in immediately to any call which is important in a fast-moving situation.” Additional units have also been acquired for the mobile video van, giving operators mobility within the vehicle.

Health and safety is obviously a critical factor in a 999 emergency and protect operators from sudden sound surges that may occur in malicious calls so that operators’ hearing is always protected against acoustic shock. And with ultra-noise cancelling microphones to filter out background noise, the IMPACT DW Series lets callers be heard clearly without the need for repetition, which is vital in any emergency situation.

Leicester Police expect a return on investment from their new deployment and are confident in their choice of solution: “The IMPACT DW Series wireless headsets work seamlessly. They have improved flexibility and above all proved to be been completely reliable in a mission-critical 999 emergency center,” concludes Jane.