North to lose out on police funding

May 26 2008 by Chris Robinson, The Journal

NORTH police officers will not receive part of £50m funding to increase police presence on the streets, it has been revealed.

Twenty-seven forces nationwide will receive the government cash to buy 10,000 handheld computers in a bid to help increase time spent on the beat and reduce office-bound paperwork.

However Durham Constabulary had their application rejected while Northumbria Police did not apply for the Home Office funding, instead opting for its own initiative.

In today’s announcement, Policing Minister Tony McNulty said it was aimed at reducing bureaucracy in a bid to improve efficiency and increase the amount of time officers spend on patrol providing a greater visible police presence on the streets.

The devices will be used for a variety of uses including access to local and national databases to assist in confirming a person’s identify on the streets and dispatching officers to incidents.

They will also be used to fill out crime reports and to scan fingerprints at the scene of crime which will be emailed to a lab, reducing the time to match the print to criminal records from days to hours.

In the recent review of policing by Sir Ronnie Flanagan it was highlighted that forces should be provided with such equipment.

Supt John Bell, head of communications with Durham Constabulary, said: "A bid was made for funding and it is disappointing to hear we have not been successful.

"However we are pursuing similar projects ourselves through existing funding and resources, and work on these will continue."

Assistant Chief Constable Keith Mavin, of Northumbria Police, said: "Northumbria Police chose not to bid for hand-held devices on the basis that the force was already examining how best to utilise mobile data.

"We are looking to further extend the capabilities of the existing radio system."

Forces were asked to apply for a portion of the funding to the National Policing Improvement Agency, detailing how they would manage procurement, staff training and ensuring that technology and infrastructure were in place and in operation by either September 2008 or March 2009.

The Association of Chief Police Officers programme board made the decision on which bids were supported.

Those which were unsuccessful are now working with the NPIA to help them take forward deployment of mobile information devices in the future.

A Home Office Spokesperson added: "Forces were asked to apply for a portion of the £50m funding to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NIPA). 

"The applications were evaluated against set criteria  by Association of Chief Police Officers .

"The NPIA are working with the forces who did not receive funding to help them take forward deployment of mobile information devices in the future."