§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list by name the police forces which have methods of computer storage and retrieval of criminal information that are compatible with methods of national record keeping and give for each such force the capital expenditure and the annual expenditure for the longest period possible.
§ Mr. Harry EwingIn Scotland, only Tayside police keeps criminal and offence records—but not criminal intelligence—on computer. There is no direct link with any other police record system but the method of classification used is compatible with that in general use elsewhere.
The facilities used by Tayside police are rented from Tayside regional council and annual rental costs since local government reorganisation are as follows:
1975–76 £87,000 1976–77 £107,000 1977–78 £130,000 1978–79 £113,000—estimated
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the police forces which have systems for command and control schemes based on the use of computers which help in handling requests for assistance from the public, aid dispatch of personnel and equipment, record, monitor and store such information for management purposes, stating for each force the capital costs and the annual expenditure for the longest period possible and whether such schemes are operational or in the process of being installed.
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§ Mr. Harry EwingThe only police force in Scotland to have a full and operational command and control system is Strathclyde. The total cost of bringing the system into operation was £835,000—including a substantial element of research and development expenditure—and running costs were £44,000, £49,000 and £56,000—estimated—in 1976–77, 1977–78 and 1978–79, respectively.
Broadly equivalent facilities are currently being provided for Tayside police at a capital cost of £78,000.