How change management helped NT Police rescue delayed SerPro launch

The Northern Territory Police Force has adopted a top-down change management strategy to oversee the delivery of technology and transformation programs, following setbacks during the rollout of its new core policing system.

John Atkin, NT Police Force

Commander of digital transformation and reform John Atkin led the effort to implement SerPro, the force’s long-overdue case management system, and modernise police operations across Australia’s most remote jurisdiction.

Speaking to the iTnews Podcast, Commander Atkin recounted how he assumed responsibility for the SerPro rollout in 2022, after concerns emerged around the system’s end-to-end usability and the NT Police Force’s readiness to adopt the changes.

While individual modules - such as investigations, custody, and property management - were functioning on their own, Commander Atkin said the process flow and sequencing were not aligned with frontline operations.

“ What I saw was that pieces of the system... have been done in their silos. And each of those was working. But when you went to try and make one module go to the next module from a user perspective, it just didn't work.”

Recognising that fragmented workflows would hinder frontline officers, Commander Atkin brought his two decades of policing to the project’s delivery.

His focus has since been on ensuring NT Police Force systems not only function independently but also that processes integrate smoothly to support operational effectiveness.

A big bang

SerPro officially went live at the end of 2023, marking a major milestone in the NT Police Force’s digital transformation journey.

Unlike other police jurisdictions, which opted for a phased roll-out of the system, Commander Atkin championed a “big bang” approach, believing it would best serve the demands of policing across the Northern Territory.

“It was an absolute digital transformation in an agency that's working 24/7 across a huge, vast area,” he explained.

“You can't just take people away from the workplace for days or weeks on end and not lose service to the community. We spent a lot of time planning how we would go about training people ready for that big bang.”

To support the transition, the force introduced several initiatives aimed at facilitating change on the ground.

One key strategy was a hub-and-spoke training model, which involved setting up training centres in larger regional hubs to cater to remote police officers.

The NT Police Force also appointed several officers as system “champions,” equipping them with the necessary training so they could serve as go-to contacts for colleagues needing support.

Another factor that eased the transition was the natural turnover of police personnel, which, as Commander Atkin explained, led to the emergence of a new cohort of “super users.”

“Around  30 people at a time were coming into the workforce, and all they knew was a new system. They essentially were becoming our super users,” he said.

“That was all they had been trained in. They didn't have the legacy knowledge that others had.”

Leading the way

For the remainder of 2025, Commander Atkin is focused on two major initiatives: delivering a new electronic rostering system for NT Police officers and supporting the nationwide implementation of the National Firearms Register.

On the latter, Commander Atkin noted that the NT Police Force is at the forefront, playing a key role in helping shape how the register is implemented across jurisdictions.

At the same time, his team is undertaking what he calls “digital landscape” work—an internal audit of the agency’s current technology environment.

“We've identified somewhere around, I think it's 250 different systems and tools that we're currently using within the police, fire and emergency services,” he explained.

This level of complexity isn’t uncommon in policing or public safety, so the current work is about rationalisation and stewardship rather than pointing fingers.

“And then we go through a process of saying, who's the system owner? How are we supporting it?”

“There are a number of things that need to be replaced, just because they're at the end of life,” he added.

“And other things where we're looking towards the future to see what's coming next, and other things where we're spending some time trying to understand whether or not we could be using existing products and tools better.”