CW+ Premium Content/Computer Weekly

The Metropolitan Police Service’s integrated record management system is nearly £60m over budget, and still facing major teething problems, with officers and staff raising more than 25,000 support requests in its first four months of operation, according to a freedom of information (FOI) disclosure. The Connect system – contracted to software supplier NEC Software in May 2018 for up to £150m – is intended to help the force with end-to-end management of various policing processes, from intelligence and investigations to custody and prosecution, by giving officers instant access to real-time information across eight previously disparate systems through a single operational platform. According to the NEC website: “Connect’s deep integration tells officers 100% of what’s known in real time. Which means they’ll always make informed decisions … Just as one example, it defines, for every police officer, the steps they must take when recording a crime, so that information is never missed that would prevent the case going to court, which...