EDS wins £39m justice system deal

Outsourcing giant EDS has won a £39m deal to develop the technology to create a single view of offenders as they progress through the UK justice system, from court to jail to probation.

The company said it has been selected by the National Offender Management Service to develop and supply the National Offender Management Information System (Nomis), which it said will help cut reoffending rates.

According to EDS, the contract will be initially worth £39m with the potential for another £40m in additional services, and will be delivered under the existing Quantum deal with the Prison Service, which will run until 2012.

Nomis is the technology that will integrate information from the Prison Service and the National Probation Service. It will also support the introduction of new sentencing legislation in 2006 and provide the capability to link to police, courts and Crown Prosecution Service.

It will build a profile of an offender by recording data including education, training history and case management.

This information will be used to help staff make better informed decisions on issues such as releasing offenders or probation.

The system is due to go live to a limited group in July 2006, with the full rollout to 77,000 users expected to occur over the following 18 months.

EDS' offender management client delivery executive Lisa Kiger said: "It's an exciting opportunity for EDS to work together with all parties involved to deliver an integrated way of working across both prisons and probation."