Police Digital Service taps up former biometrics commissioner as interim CEO

The Police Digital Service (PDS) has lined up an interim successor to recently departed CEO Ian Bell, who resigned as a director last month following the news that two of the company’s employees had been arrested on suspicion of bribery, fraud and misconduct in public office.

Documents filed with Companies House confirm that PDS appointed the UK government’s former biometrics and surveillance camera commissioner, Tony Eastaugh, as its interim CEO on 19 August 2024.

Eastaugh resigned from his role as commissioner earlier this month after being appointed to the “time-limited” role in December 2023, where he was enlisted to oversee the abolishment of the commissioner’s role, as per the contents of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill.

However, this bill was not fast-tracked for delivery during the pre-election “wash-up” period and is now on hold indefinitely, which is understood to be the reason why Eastaugh opted to stand down.

Eastaugh also previously served as director general to the Home Office, which partly funds the work PDS does to oversee the development and delivery of the National Police Digital Strategy.

In a statement to Computer Weekly, Eastaugh said it was a “privilege” to join PDS and help continue its “crucial work” to deliver digital, data and technology solutions to the policing sector.

“The skills, experience and dedication of the entire PDS team will mean we can deliver stronger results as we support our colleagues in law enforcement,” he said.

“PDS plays a pivotal and crucial role in helping bring about increased public safety, whether through cyber security for policing, or by providing tools and programmes that support efficiencies and help victims.” 

He added: “Policing needs the right technology delivered at the right time, and PDS has the capability and intent to make this happen.”

Eastaugh is joining PDS at a tumultuous time, as the organisation – in the wake of the recent arrests – has seen another director leave, and has also committed to carrying out a “thorough review” of how the company operates.

Owen Sayers, an independent security consultant and enterprise architect with over 20 years’ experience in delivering national policing systems, told Computer Weekly that Eastaugh is “no stranger to caretaker or fixer roles in the Home Office” and so seems to be a “natural choice” for the interim CEO role.

“I would hope that whilst he is in charge, he does initiate a proper top-to-bottom review of PDS, its role, construction and operation, since all of these need examination,” Sayers added.

He also said Eastaugh would be well-placed to ask questions about the policing sector’s questionable adoption of US hyperscale cloud services, which – as previously reported by Computer Weekly – is misaligned with the sector’s own data protection laws.

“At present, Police digital activities are led by a profit-making limited company, which has driven the deployment of cloud services on terms which do not comply with UK laws. In his new role, I am sure he will assume responsibility for PDS actions moving forward, so will want to know why that’s been done,” said Sayers.

“If PDS is to have a future at all – and I do think that’s a question to be openly asked – Mr Eastaugh needs to be more willing to examine issues the senior executives have been all too happy to ignore, including the legal basis of processing personal data in the public cloud, a matter the previous biometrics and surveillance commissioner raised concerns over, prior to Mr Eastaugh’s tenure in that post, and which remains unresolved.”