Met Police to get integrated policing system from Northgate

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has signed a five-year deal with Northgate Public Services to deliver an integrated IT system.

The contract, with an option to extend for a further five years, comes two years after the MPS first went out to tender, looking for  a “single integrated system” to manage end-to-end business policing processes in relation to investigation, detention (custody), intelligence and case management.  

The original tender document said the force envisioned a 10-year contract costing between £80m and £150m, but the value of Northgate’s five-year deal is thought to be below that. Northgate Public Services was acquired by Japanese company NEC this year.  

The Met Police will use Northgate’s Connect policing platform to improve information sharing, with police officers being given instant access to real-time information across a range of devices. The Connect system will cover intelligence, investigations, custody and prosecution.

MPS deputy assistant commissioner Duncan Ball, who will lead the project, said he was pleased the force will get an integrated IT system.

“The technology will transform and improve the way information is shared and managed and will greatly support investigations and our work in keeping the public safe and bringing offenders to justice,” he said.

The MPS is one of many police forces across the country that have signed up for the Connect platform.

In October 2016, the Isle of Man decided to adopt the system, making it the island’s police’s largest IT investment for a decade. The previous month, Lancashire Constabulary became the UK’s first police force to go live with a “standalone” cloud version of the platform, rather than joining the Athena multi-force collaboration that nine other forces have signed up to.  

Last year, the MPS signed up for a digital forensics system from cohort company MASS. That contract will see the Met work with MASS to give officers access to technology and research, enabling them to interpret electronic data related to criminal investigations.