Policing UK 2013 - Police Federation

SPONSORED FEATURE
The police solution framework
was developed and is continually
revised in collaboration with police
customers. It is not designed as a ‘big
bang’ IT replacement program as the
architectural principles are based on
phased implementation while being
sympathetic to the complexities of legacy
systems. The solution framework is built
on open standards intended to integrate
with key third party technologies and
reuse where practicable components of
the legacy system.
Policing is based on historic principles
like the ‘Judges Rules’ 1 , Peelian Principles
2
and legislation designed to regulate
the unique role of a constable who is
entrusted to enforce laws or use lethal
force when there is a serious threat to life.
In this era of the information
economy, a constable or more generally
front line operational police and those
who support them are sometimes
disempowered to perform this unique,
historic role. This is often due to IT
systems not enabling their work or
providing relevant functionality to
deliver the right information to perform
their function.
Police IT systems in operation today
have generally been designed before
the advent of online customers, social
media, tablet devices and new forms
of mobile working. This phenomenon
is frequently referred to as ‘front line
information poverty’ as employees
cannot get access to the information
needed to make informed decisions,
sometimes in high risk situations. It often
results in simple tasks not being able to
be completed in the field, necessitating
a trip back to an office, thereby taking
scarce resources off the street.
For the customer or a citizen this may
result in delays to access to justice or
unnecessary bureaucratic processes when
interacting with the police.
Organisational issues
This is a symptom of a deeper
organisational IT problem confronted by
police services in many countries around
the world. There are a multiplicity of
reasons why police IT systems appear to
be embedded in a different era, but some
common themes are hundreds of legacy
applications servicing the organisation.
Similarly, the IT technical infrastructure
is not capable of meeting the demands
of end users or it does not possess the
ability to technically support modern
police service delivery in an environment
of information overload.
The IT systems needed to support a
large police force are not significantly
different from the capabilities needed
by a small force as they perform similar
functions but on a different scale. This
raises the question of affordability, with
some large organisations evaluating
cloud computing to modernize, while
smaller police forces, which are the
victims of organisational fragmentation,
are turning to collaboration with other
forces to gain access to contemporary
technology.
Shared responsibility
Police ICT strategy development and
enterprise solution delivery is very much
a shared responsibility between police
executive business professionals, chief
information officers, and representatives
from the back office and front line police.
It also requires working in a close
and well-structured partnership with
key technology product vendors such
as Oracle, systems integrators and
consulting delivery partners. Through
these partnerships, police will learn
about advances in ICT and gain
valuable information about how to
approach and what to expect from
business and IT modernisation and
transformation programs.
These partnerships will provide
industry invaluable insight into
understanding police service delivery
requirements and organisational
resourcing challenges. Both the police
and industry must take a long-term
view on this important public-private
partnership. It also means both sides
investing in the future. Ultimately, this is
about delivering a quality service to the
customers, giving police the technology
they need to do their job and provide
value for money to government. n
For further information
Visit www.oracle.com
Police IT systems in operation today have
generally been designed before the advent
of online customers, social media, tablet
devices and new forms of mobile working
1
Judges Rules see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judges%27_
Rules
2
Peelian Principles see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Peelian_Principles