The national police IT strategy published this month proposes the use of common data models and standard interfaces to improve information sharing and help cut costs.

The police service is structured as 42 independent forces, and until now each has created its own infrastructure and mix of applications. Attempts to standardise software, such as the National Strategy for Police Information Systems modules developed by the central Police IT Organisation (Pito), have largely foundered because of disagreement between forces as to how applications should function and patchy take-up.

The latest Information Systems Strategy for the Police Service (ISS4PS) was developed by the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), in collaboration with the Home Office, the Association of Police Authorities, local forces and the Criminal Justice IT unit.

‘The aim is to set a common platform to make information sharing easier,’ said Acpo head of information management Ailsa Beaton. ‘It will also make police investments more cost effective because we can collaborate and buy things once instead of everyone making their own arrangements.’

The traditional model of forces making IT spending decisions according to their own priorities is no longer appropriate, says Pito ISS4PS implementation programme manager Andy Waters.

‘The strategy is a model of consolidating and centralising access to data so an enquiry in Northumberland can access information held in Cambridgeshire,’ said Waters. ‘The plan is for common products used across the whole police domain.’

The Impact national intelligence-sharing programme developed in response to the Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders is an exemplar of the ISS4PS approach. The new strategy includes much wider information including operational data such as custody records, and corporate systems such as human resources and finance.

The ultimate vision is for all police information to be integrated into a ‘global data store’ based on federated data stores.

The final phase is to develop a consistent national technical architecture, including a suite of corporate applications based on standard business processes.

‘The strategy is not for one big database but for common services so everyone has the same means for logging on, the same security systems, a shared corporate data model, XML mechanisms for exchanging data, and so on,’ said Waters.

Pito is working through a set of more than 300 statements defining what the strategy will mean in practice. Central applications such as the Police National Computer and local force systems are to be assessed and plans will be drawn up for ensuring future compliance.

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