"We're working on a prevention first strategy which is basically about getting in front of the wave of crime and crashes to prevent them happening, which is the most effective way of reducing harm," Crombie said.
"Mobility is a key part of this."
The centre is part of a partnership between Vodafone and the New Zealand Police after the telco secured the rights as the official mobility partner to the police in 2013.
Since then Vodafone has helped to develop a number of applications which Crombie said had already had a significant impact.
"It's been a huge success so far," Crombie said.
"It's achieved the benefits we wanted plus more.
"And because we've been doing this for well over a year and a half, we've got a lot of experience about what the new benefits could be and that's why we set up the innovation and experience centre," he said.
"It's a place where we can work with our partners to work out what the next range of applications will look like."
According to Crombie, the partnership with Vodafone had already resulted in several successful applications, which he said had resulted in time-saving equivalent to half an hour per officer, per shift, adding up to 520,000 hours a year and savings of around $304 million.
Police Commissioner Mike Bush said technology developed at the centre had the potential to be used by police services globally.
"Police's mobility programme has revolutionised the way police work and made police more visible, efficient and effective than ever before," Bush said.
"The Mobility Innovation Lab and Experience Centre will build on this success, and provide solutions for New Zealand Police and potentially police services around the world."
He said the most successful programme so far was one developed for the police by one of Vodafones partners, Intergraph, that had the ability for an officer anywhere, with a cellphone, to identify people, locations, vehicles and events so that they could get the information from central computers on their phone and be able to respond.
The centre will be available for police around the country as well as other government agencies that wished to participate with the programmes.
Vodafone chief executive Russell Stanners said the collaboration provided a number of opportunities for the company to develop new technologies.
"It's a unique collaboration and we're obviously very pleased to be partnering with the police," Stanners said. "And if you think about their business, you probably wouldn't find a more mobile workforce.
"The opportunity for mobile technology in all its forms to enhance their key processes is very exciting."
According to Crombie, in the police's latest excellence programme mobility had been identified as a major factor in the success of the force, with Crombie adding that it was important for police to be at the leading edge of mobility and technology alongside the community.
"I think its incredibly important for the police to be leading in this field, because that's where society is going with this rapid uptake in technology," Crombie said.
"So the police ... need to use this technology as well and be very familiar with it."
On the beat
• The New Zealand Police and Vodafone have opened a new innovation and experience centre in Wellington.
• The centre will be used to develop new technology and apps for the police force.
• Vodafone has been working with the police for more than a year now after securing the contract in 2013.
