The future of a major element of the Impact national intelligence sharing system is in doubt because of financial problems, highlighting uncertainties over central police IT projects.

A letter from Impact chairman David Stevens to chief constables says the Cross-Regional Information Sharing Project (Crisp) will have to be cancelled if the overall plan for a Police National Database (PND) is to be achievable in light of expected budget cuts.

The Home Office will only confirm that Impact, of which Crisp is the second phase, is under review. But Computing understands that the £50m procurement for the Crisp central data system was halted last week.

Crisp, which was due to go live this summer, would allow officers to search for intelligence data held by other forces.

The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), which comes into being next month, is involved in budget negotiations with the cash-strapped Home Office. Given that background, police IT staff are not surprised that Impact may be scaled back.

‘We know the NPIA will start with a thumping deficit,’ said one police IT source. ‘So we knew all the national IT programmes were at risk – Crisp may not be the only one to hit the buffers.

‘Police IT is in disarray and the past couple of months have been dire because we do not know what will be funded and what will not,’ said the source.

Impact was created after the 2004 Bichard Inquiry into the Soham murders described nationwide intelligence sharing as ‘a national priority’.

But implementation of the project, originally set for 2007, has already slipped to 2010.

‘It is extremely disappointing that what was a priority at the time of the Bichard review seems as far away today as when Sir Michael issued his report,’ said Rick Naylor, president of the Superintendents’ Association.

A spokeswoman for the Home Office says decisions made about the Impact programme will be designed to improve delivery.

‘Any decision will compromise neither child protection nor the ultimate objective of delivering the PND by 2010,’ she said.

Stand by IT plans, 18

Hear podcast on this story

www.computing.co.uk/audio-video