News

27 January 2010
NEW TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE POLICE RESPONSE TO 999 CALLS

New information technology and services are set to revolutionise the way police forces respond to incidents across the country

The Scottish Police Service has invested £2,600,000 in a Scotland-wide Command and Control computer system, which will enhance the service to the public.

The new technology will allow the police service to ensure that no matter where in the country an incident takes place, the right officers are more quickly and consistently deployed to the right locations at the right time, to prevent and detect crime.

A 'go live' date for the first force, Lothian and Borders Police, has been planned for September 2010, followed by a rollout programme to all other forces.  When complete, it will mark the first time Scottish forces will share a single, common system for Command and Control.

Led by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) and the eight Scottish police forces, and supported by the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA), the contract, which has been awarded to Steria, is the final piece in a jigsaw to develop and install a single, national Command and Control system, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Gazetteer application that will be used by all the forces and wider police community.

Command and Control is the nerve centre of every police force. It is where all incidents with which forces deal, including 999 calls, are recorded and appropriate resources are deployed to the required locations.

Scotland's eight forces currently use a wide range of different and isolated applications to handle over 2,500,000 incidents annually. This can make data sharing difficult and provides an inconsistent picture of crime in Scotland.

Chief Constable Colin McKerracher, Chair of the ACPOS Business Change Programme Board, said: "It is absolutely vital that the police are able to quickly identify where a crime is taking place - or where a member of the public needs our assistance. In a 999 situation, it really is location, location, location.  Once that is established, the priority is to get the nearest appropriate police officers deployed to that location.

"At present, we are working with many different electronic systems to do this. The reality is that criminals don't take police force boundaries into consideration when they commit crime and neither should we when we respond.

"The National Command and Control solution, coupled with other exciting products being progressed by ACPOS, as part of the national business change programme, will provide the police with new tools and support to help us tackle criminals effectively, regardless of where they are or where incidents take place.''

Jan Thompson, Chief Information Officer with SPSA added: "Delivering the new single system is a hugely complex task but once it is up and running as a national system, replacing eight disparate applications, there are tangible efficiency savings to be made through the introduction of improved and more effective ICT services."

Tracey Lee, Head of Emergency Services at Steria said: "This is the first time a nationwide Command and Control computer system has been adopted in Scotland, and as such we have worked closely with the Scottish Police Service to ensure it receives the world-class system it demands.  Steria has provided similar facilities for a number of public sector organisations, so we have drawn heavily from our experience to produce a system which will enable Scotland's eight forces to operate efficiently and deliver effective policing."

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill said: ''Scotland is well served by its eight police forces.  However, crime and criminals don't respect the boundaries between our forces.

"I welcome this investment in a Scotland-wide command and control system.  When introduced, this system will mean the police nearest to a serious incident can be deployed, regardless of which force they belong to and when an incident crosses force boundaries it can be handled seamlessly.

"This is the sort of joined-up approach we expect from our police and I am delighted Scotland is leading the way in introducing a nationwide system.''