A near-death experience has helped inspire a South Australian police officers' crime-fighting app that could save the force millions of dollars and speed up court cases.
Constable Tung Tran almost died in 2010 after he and a colleague were shot in the face on a job in Adelaide.
"There's certain things I don't like about our court system and our justice system, particularly coming from that victim perspective," he said recalling his experience.
"And I do feel, in some ways, if we could have submitted evidence in a way that was more impactful or easier to understand, then it would give victims a better voice."
Const Tran and Jerome Lienert will on Monday launch MyEvidence, a smartphone and tablet app allowing officers to store evidence such as files, photographs and videos.
Const Tran said it would cut down on behind-the-scenes paperwork, saving time and an estimated $27 million a year in wages.
He believes MyEvidence could be used to speed up court cases and increase successful prosecutions.
"I believe, with better evidence capture in the field, it would lead to more successful prosecutions within the court," Const Tran said.
The officers first came up with the idea in 2009 after becoming sick of "duplicative" bureaucracy that took away from frontline work.
The project languished for some time before Const Tran returned to it in 2013 after being shot gave him "a different perspective on life".
"We're dealing with people who are victims and being in those shoes has helped me understand the process from their end," he said.
"If you do want to affect change, you just have to simply go out and try it."
Const Tran said he was in discussions with organisations, including the Australian Federal Police and the South Australian and Western Australian police forces, about MyEvidence trials.
"They are receptive of what we're doing and there is a lot of support, not only from our colleagues, but fellow officers from other jurisdictions," he said.
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