PSNI Information Systems (IS) Strategy 2005-2008
The £65 million IS Strategy which aims to move the PSNI to the forefront of law enforcement technology by 2008 was approved by the Policing Board in October 2004. The IS Strategy fulfils the Independent Commision on Policing for Northern Ireland (Patten) Recommendation 93 which stated that:
“There should be an urgent, independent and in-depth strategic review of the use of information technology in policing. It should benchmark the Northern Ireland police against police services in the rest of the world and devise a properly resourced strategy that places them at the forefront of law enforcement technology within 3 to 5 years. It should be validated by independent assessment. The strategy should deliver fully integrated technology systems that are readily accessible to all staff and should take advantage of the best analytical and communications systems currently available. Users of the technology should play a key part in devising the strategy and in assessing its implementation”
The IS Strategy is available from the PSNI website at www.psni.police.uk . The IS Strategy covers all aspects of PSNI’s work including operational policing, policing and organisational support, systems integration and infrastructure development.
The IS Strategy was validated as fit for purpose by the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) in December 2004. PITO have also been appointed by the Policing Board and PSNI to act as independent assessors for the IS Strategy until March 2007. In this context PITO provide four monthly independent validation reports to the Resources and Improvement Committee. As well as providing assurance to the Policing Board on the implementation of the IS strategy, the appointment of PITO also fulfils the requirement contained in the Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland (Patten) Recommendation 93 to put in place independent assessment and validation of the IS Strategy. It is envisaged that the National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) will assume PITO’s independent validation role after April 2007.