Single system speeds police access to data

South Wales Police (SWP) has installed an information system that it believes will cut crime and increase citizen security.

The Niche Records Management System (RMS) replaces several systems and gives the force’s 3,500 officers access to case and custody records.

South Wales will be able to use the system to exchange data electronically with the Crown Prosecution Service via the Criminal Justice Exchange at the core of the government’s Joined-up Justice programme.

‘The separate systems dealing with primary calling, custody management and case preparation had no interface between them,’ said Superintendent Richard Lewis, the officer in charge of the project.

‘The new system means interaction with the public will be in one location and investigations will be dealt with in a far more efficient way.’

Lewis says in the past, reported crimes were logged on one system and arrests relating to that crime logged on another.

‘With RMS, a call begins its life in the system, and any information will be linked to the initial incident,’ he said.

Lewis says the increased efficiency means officers will spend less time on bureaucracy and more time on the beat. ‘We are improving the front end and the police end and we will catch more criminals,’ he said.

The force is still implementing RMS, which entails all previously recorded information being transferred onto the system from vendor Niche Technology.

It will initially be accessed by passwords linked to an officer’s personal number, but there are plans to add biometric entry for increased security.

SWP plans to integrate its crime and intelligence systems so officers can access data such as licence plates, missing persons and suspicious behaviour that may not have warranted arrest.

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