POLICE Scotland wants an IT upgrade of nearly £3 million as a deputy chief constable warned the current “failings” are “unsustainable”.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said the “economically inefficient” service is detrimental to the public.
She made the comments ahead of the force’s outline business case for £298m of investment over nine years being put before the Scottish Police Authority at a board meeting on Thursday. The submission highlights that many of the IT systems are out of date, not joined up and cannot be upgraded.
Officers routinely attend calls with little or no information on how dangerous the situation is to them or the public, or the circumstances and needs of the victim. Paper notebooks are used to record information and crimes, meaning time is lost as officers head to their stations to type this information into several different systems – which can lead to victims having to make repeated statements.
Deputy Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: “There has been significant under-investment in technology in policing since well before 2013 and we’ve not been able to make use of any investment.
“Despite this, our officers and staff have continued to deliver to the best of their ability by making huge personal commitments to get the job done.
"But the present situation is unsustainable. The pressure on our officers and staff to work around the failings in our technology and meet the new threats will move beyond their ability to cope.”
She said the upgrade would provide tools fit for the 21st century, generate savings and create improvements across the criminal justice system. The case is expected to generate economic benefit of £357m over nine years.
The upgrade would make it easier for members of the public to report crime, using online services. Officers would be provided with mobile devices to access integrated and up-to-date information on the move.
It would include improved technology to capture evidence and also enhance how the force safeguards, manages and shares data.
“Officers and staff are constantly frustrated and slowed down by shoddy IT,” said Scottish LibDem justice spokesman Liam McArthur. “The police are not going to be able to tackle highly sophisticated organised criminals with IT equipment that would struggle to run Pac-Man.”
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