Police forces should be more thoughtful about the technology they procure, South Yorkshire Police Federation said, as the Home Office admitted that forces are not always getting value for money.<\/p>\n
At the NPCC Innovation and Digital Summit last month, the head of the Home Office national police capabilities unit, Bethan Page-Jones, spoke about what was in the Police Reform white paper, expected to be released this year.<\/p>\n
Ms Page-Jones said that policing does \u201cspend an awful lot of money on technology \u2013 both procurement and people\u201d. Yet at the moment, \u201cwe\u2019re not really getting the value of the quite significant amount of investment\u201d.<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cWe\u2019re not clear on the aspect of demand, and sometimes we buy what we\u2019re sold rather than buying what we need\u2026I think understanding what we have got, what works now, and who we can build on that is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Home Office is looking to make a series of commercial savings, including buying technology nationally to benefit from economies of scale.<\/p>\n
South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: \u201cPolice tech is a bit of a mixed bag. There’s some technology out there that is great for officers, but we only have to look at the technology surrounding case-file building and that takes 10 times longer than it did when it was done on paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at some of the technology our traffic officers are given, it’s obviously really helpful for them and their jobs, but I would agree that some things that are dished out in policing are simply not necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cCops will embrace technology when it helps them, but some tech takes longer than before and doesn’t actually help the officers on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n