The new National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) took
over the co-ordination of IT systems across the UK's 43 police
forces this week, in a move designed to restore confidence in
police IT.
The agency replaces the Police IT Organisation (Pito), which was
criticised as being largely ineffective in an independent review
published by the Home Office in 2005.
"The NPIA will streamline police improvement by creating a
single organisation to provide the best possible support to forces
when delivering a national programme to take forward developments
vital to frontline policing, such as IT, training and best
practice," said Home Office minister Tony McNulty.
The agency has mandatory powers under the Police and Justice Act
2006 to enforce IT strategy across the UK's 43 police forces.
The NPIA in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police
Officers and the Association of Police Authorities can make
recommendations to ministers to make local forces adhere to
national IT strategies. Ministers will then have the power to
enforce recommendations in exceptional circumstances.
"This [power] is a weapon of last resort, and we will choose the
things that matter when we need to use them," said NPIA chief
executive Peter Neyroud.
Although the creation of a national intelligence system was
described as a priority in the Bichard Report, which uncovered
failures to share intelligence during the investigation into the
Soham murders, Pito had no powers to make forces adhere to
standards on intelligence gathering and management.
Last year the Home Office put back the intelligence system
deadline from 2007 to 2010. The government first drew up plans for
the system in 1994.
www.npia.police.uk
About the national police IT strategy
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