The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has appointed Civica Digital to deliver a new data sharing platform for an initial five-year period.
The new system, designed by the company, will support information sharing between numerous sources including PSNI’s case management systems, Causeway (the Northern Ireland Criminal Justice Data Store) and the Police National Computer (PNC).
Information held on the platform can also be shared out via the PNC, linking data with the wider UK and European police data sharing platforms.
The deal follows a procurement exercise to find a strategic partner to design, build, support and provide services for the future development of a Criminal Justice Data Sharing (CJDS) solution, set to go live in November 2019.
Civica Digital said it has designed a set of reusable services to improve the scalability of the system, which also includes a set of operational management and self-monitoring tools that will allow PSNI to view, track and rectify issues as soon as they occur.
Streamlining
Jeff McNamara head of ICS at PSNI, said: “Our new Criminal Justice Data Sharing platform will streamline our processes and systems and drive more efficiency. This is crucial at a time when budgets are continuously stretched, demands are becoming more complex and public expectations are changing.
“Implemented with Civica Digital, the new system will ultimately allow our officers to spend more time policing with the community delivering more effective, collaborative outcomes and continue to help build a safe, confident and peaceful Northern Ireland.”
This is the second major investment this year in PSNI's digital capability: in February it confirmed that Capita Communications and Control Solutions had won the deal to deliver its new command and control system. At the time Drew Harris, the force's deputy chief constable, highlighted the importance of investing in future proof solutions.
The announcement also increases Civica’s stake in Northern Ireland’s emergency services, coming days after the news that the region’s fire and rescue service has signed up to use its Tranman software for fleet management.
The company’s managing director for Ireland Mark Owens said it builds on a body of work delivered through programmes such as NI Direct.
Image: Mark Owens, Civica Digital’s managing director Ireland, and Drew Harris, deputy chief constable PSNI
