The Police ICT Company has stepped back from its plan to appoint a private sector partner as a go-between for business between forces and digital technology suppliers.
It has cancelled a procurement aimed at finding a Police ICT Partner to manage relationships with a broad range of suppliers.
A spokesperson for PoliceICT, which is owned by the UK’s police force and provides support in their technology investments, said: “The company has determined that further work is needed to reflect on the large volume of change happening in policing and within the company, and its far reaching impact, before committing to a relationship on the scale of that proposed.
“The company has begun developing an alternative model together with its policing and national partners.”
Supplier network
The planned arrangement was aimed at finding a partner to set up and manage a network of value added and large account resellers, original equipment manufacturers and independent software vendors for police forces to call off business on standard or commodity technology. Police organisations would have transacted directly with the Police ICT Partner.
The deal could have been worth up to £500 million over 10 years.
Earlier this year, and after it published the procurement notice, PoliceICT outlined three prime activities within its service offer: setting the direction for the use of digital technology in policing in partnership with the National Police Technology Council; negotiating and managing contracts; and supporting major technology programmes.
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