IT AND DATA
Recommendations for the Met
1. MOPAC must ensure the Directorate of Information has the skills and resources to implement the Met’s ICT strategy
2. The Met must provide more detail on plans to reduce the police ICT budget, identify risks with this and how it proposes to manage them, as well as explaining its intention to engage with other forces
3. MOPAC should explain how its role on the board of the Police ICT Company is benefi tting the Met
4. The Mayor should explain what action has been taken to ensure collaboration across London’s emergency services and what he intends to do by 2015
5. The Met should update the committee with initial fi ndings from mobile technology and predictive crime mapping pilots
6. The Met should develop coherent policies and guidance for offi cers on social media use
7. MOPAC should work with the Met to establish the necessary level of investmet into ICT and how it will be funded
8. The Met’s Technology Investment Board should provide the committee with progress updates on the implementation of the ICT strategy
9. MOPAC should explain how it will update Londoners on the Met’s plans to use new technology in the future
But as younger offi cers go up the ranks they can see far more clearly that “what’s on offer isn’t working”, especially as they become more accustomed to using technology in their personal lives.
Tool up
Social media is also a key way for forces to use the latest data to improve communication and services, Biggs said. Both internal and external dialogue can speed up front-line operations as well as improving public trust in the police.
“Using social networking in disseminating information, in helping to manage incidents, in learning from the riots for example, where the police were caught rather fl at-footed – it all shows that the police service has to be alive to social networking.
“In the information age you need to tool yourselves up to that and there’s all sorts of criminal activity and risks with IT. The use of IT tools can massively increase productivity.”
“A bit of risk-taking is required by the police”, Biggs added, citing results from pilots of successful social media campaigns. The more information the public get to see from the
police, the more they can understand and trust the service.
“Dealing with infi nite amounts of information out there, the police need to think about how their management and fl ow of information should best interface with that, because if you use modern technology and social networking methods then people will be open with you if you’re relatively open with them.
“It’s part of the process of building better networks of trust with people, which will improve the effectiveness of policing.”
Predictive mapping
As apps become increasingly sophisticated in both personal and professional fi elds, technology can achieve more and more, including mapping and analysing patterns of risk and crime.
Biggs said: “Predictive mapping is quite exciting; it’s being piloted in Manchester and the USA. Using IT to look at patterns of crime and attempted crime you can help to isolate areas or individuals which are worthy of attention in a way that you couldn’t without computing power.
“But those new systems can’t be integrated with the old steam-engine systems which currently exist in the police force. It’s another reason why we need to update.
“Quite often institutions are in denial about the challenges of change and get very defensive.
“We’ve found the Met are open to the needs we challenged them to change because they recognise there’s a big payback.
“They recognised that you can make a virtue out of necessity – operating on smaller budgets and the fact that you simply cannot continue on the current systems.
“There must be better ways of doing it and indeed we think that there are.”
A Met statement said: “We welcome the report and its recommendations and we are pleased to note that the committee feels we are moving in the right direction.”
John Biggs AM
FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://tinyurl.com/smartpolicing
public sector executive Sep/Oct 13 | 53
©
www.freeimages.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84