C&W extends police network deal

Criminal justice agencies and 250,000 users across the UK's police forces are to receive an updated national network for the secure exchange of data across organisational boundaries, it was announced on Thursday.

Work is to begin on expanding the Police National Network (PNN2) to cover more advanced services, following a two-year contract extension with supplier Cable & Wireless. Under the PNN2 framework contract, organisations are linked to the Criminal Justice Extranet (CJX) and receive facilities such as email, data sharing services, document exchange, centralised user directories and secure access to the internet. The network also provides secure connections to the Police National Computer.

As a result of the contract extension, Cable & Wireless is to refresh and upgrade existing services, increase the bandwidth capacity tenfold and extend the network to other organisations. New bodies to be linked to the network include local authorities, social services departments and the wider criminal justice community.

A number of new functions will also be made available, including secure video conferencing, IP telephony and high definition digital imaging.

CJX liaison officer for the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) Mick Humphrey said: "The greatest challenge the criminal justice sector faces today is its scale. The CJX network encourages collaboration across departments, providing a vital tool for the secure exchange of information to help in the fight against crime."

"The more we use the CJX, the more we get out of it and the more potential we can see. The extension of the framework agreement lays the groundwork for ensuring this progress continues into the future and that the benefits are extended to other organisations."

PITO, which was responsible for negotiating the contract, would not comment on its value citing "commercial confidentiality".