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Getting 'IT' Right
A Thematic Inspection

1. Introduction

Background

1.1 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary discharges its statutory duties to inspect police forces in Scotland in two ways. First, it carries out a cyclical programme of inspections of individual police forces (and central services). Second, it carries out "Thematic Inspections" and reports on how all police forces tackle important subjects.

1.2 This is the report of a Thematic Inspection concerning how each of the eight Scottish police forces, the Scottish Crime Squad (SCS), Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) and the Scottish Police College (SPC) develop computerised Information Systems (IS) and specify, acquire, test and ultimately deploy Information Technology (IT) systems

1.3 IS/IT systems are vital to modern policing. They allow the police control rooms to monitor current tasks and the resources which are available - and send a quick and efficient response to ‘999’ and other calls. They help officers on major enquiries keep track of all the evidence which may lead them to the perpetrator. They give police officers quick access to the criminal records and fingerprints of people who have been convicted of crimes in the past, and may re-offend in the future. They provide the radio systems which keep police officers in close touch with control, to be directed quickly to the next task or to summon assistance. They record the members of the public who hold firearms. And they do a host of other things - including holding information about the financial expenditure of forces and the personnel records of their staff. IS/IT systems generally account for a bigger share of police force expenditure other than staff costs.

1.4 The importance of IS/IT is one of the reasons why HM Inspectorate undertook this Thematic Inspection. Another is because of the amount of change which is taking place in the IS/IT field in Scotland. That change reflects development in the computer industry generally. Computer power has become a much cheaper resource, capable of carrying out a wider range of tasks cost-effectively. There is now a greater convergence of technology between computers and telecommunications, making it easier to inter-link computer systems and transmit data along telephone lines or over the radio. That has given the police service more opportunity to use computers in its work - and has made it much easier for forces to share information. That, in turn, has led to the emergence of the Scottish Police Information Strategy (SPIS) and the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) - both designed to make it easier for the police to share information in an efficient way.

1.5 A further reason for this Thematic Inspection is that during the normal cycle of inspections of police forces in Scotland, HM Inspectorate has observed variable standards of efficiency and effectiveness in the use of IS/IT systems.

1.6 The intention of this report is to encourage improvement in the way that the Scottish police service uses IS/IT systems to spread the good practice which already exists in the police forces and central services, and to set the scene where relevant for wider adoption of national standards in critical areas such as programme project management, procurement, contracts and financial management.

Scope

1.7 The inspection did not examine whether individual computer systems used and being developed by the Scottish police service were the right ones. That would have been a substantial task given the number of computer systems which are in operation or planned. Rather, this inspection looked at the way in which strategy is developed, technology specified, acquired, tested and used. If the Scottish police service gets these elements right, it can have a high degree of confidence that the computer systems which result will meet its needs effectively and efficiently. The inspection did not look in depth at IT training and data protection but considered these topics where they impinged on the main subject of the inspection. The inspection concentrated on computer and radio systems rather than other uses of new technology (such as forensic laboratory equipment). But many of the principles of strategy development and project management which are good practice in the IS/IT field, apply equally to other new technology applications.

Terms of Reference

1.8 The inspection team conducted a Thematic Inspection of the Scottish police service (the eight forces, plus three central services - SPC, SCRO and SCS) to:

  • assess the extent to which IS/IT is managed in a controlled and cost-effective way;
  • identify good practice;
  • identify common themes where the delivery of systems to users can be improved and the risk of failure to deliver satisfactory systems reduced;
  • identify points which HM Inspectorate should follow up during its cyclical inspections of police forces;
  • assess the Scottish police service’s planning for SPIS and its understanding of the implications of the strategy for future systems development.

Methodology

1.9 The production of this report was viewed as a project, managed under the PRINCE (Projects in Controlled Environments) project management methodology. The adoption of PRINCE proved valuable in demonstrating that project management disciplines and in particular PRINCE (PRINCE2, in its newest and simplest form) can be applied to the smallest of projects.

1.10 The inspection was conducted by the (then) Assistant Inspector of Constabulary, Mr David Garbutt QPM, assisted by a (then) Staff Officer at the Inspectorate, Superintendent David McCall. They visited all eight forces in Scotland, plus the SCRO, SCS, SPC and the team managing the SPIS. Discussions were held with senior police officers, technical managers and their staff.

1.11 The inspection was preceded by:

  • the circulation to all forces and common services of a briefing document outlining the background, scope, terms of reference and methodology - with a questionnaire about force practices to provide the basic information for the inspection;
  • pre-inspection visits to all eight forces and the SCRO, by Superintendent David McCall accompanied and assisted by Specialist Technical Services Staff Officer at HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for England and Wales, Chief Superintendent Colin Horton QPM, whose valuable contribution to the production of this report is gratefully acknowledged. The staff officers held meetings with those directly involved in providing IS/IT systems, and the users of the systems.

Summary of Findings

1.12 The inspection gathered information about 11 elements of work (see Appendix A) of the eight Scottish police forces (plus SCRO, because of the high importance of IT in its work). Appendix B to this report summarises how the performance on each of these elements compares with good practice as recognised by Government, the IT industry and academia.

1.13 The performance of each organisation was ranked in a range 1 to 5 - 5 representing the closest fit to accepted standards and 1 representing the greatest distance from these standards. Appendix B shows that each organisation has strengths and weaknesses - and underlines the finding of this report that much is to be gained by an open exchange of good practice both by the "customers" (chief officers and users) and the "providers" (expert technical staff).

References

  • Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency PRINCE for small projects
  • S Bentley Practical PRINCE: A Guide to Structured Project Management
  • Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency A Guide to Programme Management
  • Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency Appraising Investment in Information Systems.
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