Extranet to link up police and criminal jsutice organisations
Chris MuganPolice IT specialists have won a £4m grant from the Government
to roll out an extranet across the UK.
The extranet project, which will link police forces and criminal
justice organisations, is one of 123 projects that won £60m in the
third round of the Government's Invest to Save scheme.
The Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) will use
its funds to roll out the Criminal Justice Extranet developed with
Cable & Wireless that already connects 25 forces and the Crown
Prosecution Service. PITO aims to introduce facilities such as
e-mail addresses for the public to notify the police of minor
crimes. While some forces will offer this in the next two months,
the challenge for PITO is to ensure that police across the country
provide the same standard of service.
"Some forces don't have a Web site yet and some don't accept
e-mails. We have to corporatise the system so forces in Devon and
Northumbria offer the same level of service," said chief inspector
Bob Kerr of PITO.
The Government's Invest to Save Budget (ISB) supports projects
that involve two or more public bodies aiming to provide services
in a more efficient fashion.
Other projects awarded ISB grants include an initiative from the
British Library and Public Records Office to create an online
resource for schools and a scheme to introduce electronic imaging
into the Department for Education & Employment.