Pocket Sergeant is a reference app designed and built by a serving police officer specifically for use on shift. It covers criminal law definitions, evidential thresholds, witness statement checklists, PACE Codes of Practice and more — all accessible from a phone without needing a data connection or time to search through legislation manually.
What Pocket Sergeant Offers
The app was created by PC Paul Cooper from Lincolnshire, who self-funded the project and built it specifically around the daily operational needs of response and patrol officers. That background shows in what it covers — the content is practical rather than academic, pitched at officers who need a quick answer on the street rather than a law student working through a textbook.
Key features include an A-Z of criminal law definitions, a charge threshold guide covering whether sufficient evidence exists to charge a suspect, a crime report submission reference, a witness statement checklist, a PDF library including PACE Codes of Practice, a contact list and a calendar. The app has been used by police officers, PCSOs, Special Constables, police staff and law students.
The app is available on both the App Store for iOS and Google Play for Android.
Why This App Is Useful on Shift
Response officers regularly encounter situations where the legal position needs to be checked quickly — the elements of an offence, the grounds for an arrest, what needs to go in a statement. Having a reliable reference app on a personal phone means that information is available in seconds rather than requiring a call to a supervisor or a search through a physical manual.
For new officers and probationers in particular, the charge threshold guide and witness statement checklist are the kind of reference that reduces the risk of procedural errors on early independent patrol.
For officers studying for promotion, the legal definitions and legislation reference complement formal study materials well as a quick daily revision tool.
More Police Professional Resources
For officers preparing for the National Investigators’ Exam or sergeant and inspector promotion, the Blackstone’s Police Manuals discount page covers the primary study texts at the best available prices. Officers looking at fitness for recruitment or ongoing role fitness assessments will find the Police Fitness Bleep Test training guide useful alongside the Pocket Sergeant app. For a broader guide to joining the service, the how to become a police officer guide covers the full recruitment process from application to attestation.
