Police Scotland heading for computer crisis

Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said that “economically inefficient” IT service hampered members of the public and prosecutors trying to bring criminals to justice.

She spoke ahead of Police Scotland’s outline business case for £298million of investment over nine years being put before the Scottish Police Authority at a board meeting on Thursday.

In its submission, the force says that many of its IT systems are out of date, not joined up and impossible to upgrade.

Police Scotland’s current systems require officers to capture the same information several times, and fewer than 3,000 of its 17,000 officers have mobile devices to enable them to record data on the move.

A number of different systems continue to operate in various parts of Scotland, after the £46million i6 scheme aimed at replacing them failed in 2016.

The force says the changes it wants would enable savings of up to £35.5million each year by 2022.

At the moment, officers routinely attend calls with little or no information on how dangerous the situation is to them or the public, or the circumstances and needs of the victim.

Paper notebooks are used to record information, and time is lost back at the station as officers have to type the information into several different systems, which can lead to victims having to make repeated statements.

Officers also cannot share or receive timely information from partner agencies which could help victims or vulnerable people.

DCC Taylor said: “There has been significant under-investment in technology in policing since well before 2013, and we’ve not been able to make use of some of the investment that has been available.

“Despite this, our officers and staff have continued to deliver to the best of their ability, by making huge personal commitments to get the job done.

“But the present situation is unsustainable. The pressure on our officers and staff to work around the failings in our technology and meet the new threats will move beyond their ability to cope. It also has a detrimental impact on the public and our colleagues in other parts of the criminal justice system.

“At a time when the pressure on public services is immense, we are operating an economically inefficient police service.”

DCC Taylor said the upgrade would provide tools fit for the 21st century, generate savings and create improvements across the criminal justice system.

The case is expected to generate economic benefit of £357million over nine years.

The upgrade would make it easier for the public to report crimes using online services.

Officers would be provided with mobile devices to access integrated and up-to-date information when they are on the move.

This would include improved technologyto capture evidence, and provide enhanced capability in how the force safeguards, manages and shares data.

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Liam McArthur said the current IT issues would hinder investigations of organised crime gangs.

He added: “The police are not going to be able to tackle highly sophisticated organised criminals with IT equipment that would struggle to run Pac-Man.

“21st century policing requires 21st century tools. Scottish Liberal Democrats demand better.”

Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary, added: “A functioning IT system is absolutely necessary in order for Police Scotland to fight crime, keep the public safe and keep the police themselves defended against malicious attack.

“Since the creation of Police Scotland, it has been clear that the IT system is not fit for purpose and has simply added to the workload of police officers.

“Given that previous attempts to upgrade the Police Scotland IT system have spectacularly failed, this must now be a priority.”