Scottish Police Authority awards £21m mobile services deal to EE

Mobile network operator EE will oversee a three-year, £21m transformation of the Scottish Police Authority’s mobile services, bringing new devices and applications to officers across Scotland that will enable them to work remotely and spend more time in the communities they serve.

The contract will see BT-backed EE – which is also building the troubled and much-delayed Emergency Services Network (ESN) – become both the mobile network supplier and main contractor to Police Scotland, while handset-builder Samsung will supply smartphone devices, Motorola Solutions will supply its Pronto Digital Notebook software, and BlackBerry will take charge of mobile device management (MDM).

“This contract signifies the commitment Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority have in leading the force into a more digitally focused future,” said assistant chief constable Malcolm Graham.

“The use of mobile devices will revolutionise the way officers and staff access systems, currently only available from desktop and laptop computers within police stations, enabling them to work on crime prevention and community-based policing to keep people safe, whether in the public, private or virtual space,” he said.

Police Scotland said device users would no longer have to rely on multiple sources for information, which will now be made available on a single device, and would also be able to record information digitally and securely.

The roll-out, which will begin later in 2019, will at first cover officers in response and community policing, roads policing, and the specialist services division – which deals with major crime, intelligence support and counter-terrorism, among other things.

David Wallace, BT’s public sector director in Scotland and chair of the BT Scotland board, said: “Our high-speed 4G network and cloud technology will free up police officers’ time so they can focus on policing in communities. We’re excited to be at the forefront of creating new possibilities through this partnership.”

The police force’s mobile working programme is a project within the Digitally Enabled Policing Programme (DEPP), a key strand of its Serving a Changing Scotland (2026) strategy.