Securicor wins UK police crime system contract

Police forces in England and Wales are spending £5m on a crime software system from Securicor Information Systems.

The software will record crimes and crime-related incidents, store investigation results and map out 'hotspots' by type of criminal activity. It will also be used to target race-related and homophobic crimes.

The West Yorkshire Police Force will work with Securicor over the next 18 months to develop the software under a public-private partnership. Once the system is complete - in August 2000 - it will be offered for sale to another 42 forces across the country.

Mark Homer, crime project manager for the West Yorkshire Police, said: "It will completely standardise the way crime is recorded in England and Wales for the first time."

The crime software is part of a larger drive to modernise the police service, known as the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS). This is Securicor's fourth NSPIS contract win.

Other elements of the plan include a secure national radio network that gives officers remote access to the Police National Computer and a case preparation system shared with the Crown Prosecution Service.