§ 25. Mr. HawkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to encourage an increase in the proportion of time spent by police officers on fighting crime. [99701]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe deployment of police officers is the operational responsibility of Chief Constables. However, the introduction of best value into the police service from April next year and the requirement that year on year efficiency savings of 2 per cent. must be recycled into front-line policing should allow Chief Constables to allocate more officers to the essential job of reducing crime.
Information Technology systems being delivered under the National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) and new radio technology for the police being provided as part of the Public Safety Radio Communications Project (PSRCP) will do much to free officers from administrative burdens.
The NSPIS Custody application draws much of the criminal history information required for effective administration of those in custody automatically from the Police National Computer, saving police time, effort and paperwork. The NSPIS Case Preparation system is designed to produce all the information needed by the police, courts, Crown Prosecution Service and other bodies to process cases automatically. This, too, will substantially reduce the administrative burden on police officers, freeing them for front line duties. Holmes 2 harnesses modern technology to make the best use of police resources used in the investigation of major crimes. NSPIS Crime automates the recording of crime reports, saving effort in compilation and making them easier to use in crime management and intelligence led policing. The National Management Information System (NMIS) provides an integrated set of tools to deliver the information commanders at all levels need to manage their resources as efficiently as possible to meet performance targets. NMIS will also enable data to be collected on a common basis to a standard format making it easier to collate and compare at the national level. This will reduce the burden on the police in producing returns and help Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary in their work.
The NSPIS applications will be interlinked so that information can be shared electronically, and transmitted to front line officers via the new Public Safety Radio Communication System. These new applications will help free officers from the burden of paperwork and free them for front line duties.