Plans which could see Cleveland Police again at the forefront of modernising its operations -- providing a better service to the public and releasing more officers for front-line duties -- are being considered by the Force and Police Authority.
Today Police Authority members agreed to shortlist four candidates to bid for the provision of its Information and Communications Technology service and also some elements of 'customer care' work in the force Control Room.
This is the latest move by the Authority and Force to develop collaborative partnerships with the private sector in order to provide state-of-the art facilities and services...and maximise resources going into front-line policing.
This approach has already led to the 'Action Stations' Private Finance Initiative which provided new district headquarters in Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, together with new town offices in Redcar and South Bank, as well as agreements with Reliance Secure Task management for custody and medical services and with Steria for the 'CUPID' system which provides hand-held information devices for officers on the beat.
Cleveland Chief Constable Sean Price is Chair of the National Policing Board which considers the future strategy for police information systems and he stresses that this latest move is again about using the expertise of partners to complement and support the work of the Force.
He explains "Essentially the 'core business' of the police is about making our communities safe and what we have done through our existing partnerships -- and want to develop with this latest development -- is work with organisations whose core business is delivering the kind of support we need to achieve the best possible service to the people of Cleveland.
"We believe that working with a partner in developing and modernising our ICT operations and undertaking some Control Room functions would make a significant contribution to our 'Putting People First' commitment -- for example, as well as releasing officers back to front-line duties, it would improve the handling of calls from the public, enabling us to introduce arrangements for timed home visits from officers as well as 'call back' systems to check whether people were happy with the service they had received.
"Putting People first is also about looking after the interests of our staff and obviously if we do go ahead with this development we will be doing everything to ensure their interests are taken into account -- and this would be a key element in choosing a partner organisation."
Adds Police Authority Chair Councillor Dave McLuckie "Modern policing requires modern approaches and I believe that a key element in the progress we have made over recent years in bringing down crime and improving community safety has been the willingness of both the Force and the Authority to grasp that challenge -- from providing some of the best police buildings in the country and civilianising custody services to leading the way in giving mobile data technology to front-line officers and setting up our new air support unit.
"Information Communications Technology lies at the heart of modern-day policing and we want to ensure that again we are at the forefront of delivering the quality of service which can support our officers and make us even more responsive to the public.
"In reality we do not have the resources -- or the expertise -- to achieve those aims by ourselves which is why we are now inviting proposals from four potential partners who have a great deal of experience and proven track records in this field.
"An important element is exploring opportunities for the successful partner undertaking some Control Room operations but it is important to stress that the Control Room would remain within the Police headquarters and the command arrangements would remain firmly with Cleveland Police."
Following today's decision by Authority Members the four chosen bidders will spend time at the Force headquarters and will then develop their detailed proposals.