§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what basis a Canadian company, Northern Telecom, has supplied Vienna system microcomputers to his Department for use by police forces in crime prevention and detection; to what precise uses they will be put; which forces are involved; how these computers will interact with existing police computers; if Her Majesty's Government have entered into any commitment regarding further acquisitions of computers from this company; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggTwenty micro-computers are being donated by Northern Telecom as a contribution to the Government's general crime prevention campaign. We welcome this generous gift. They will be used by the police for the analysis of crime patterns, to gather information relating to violent crime and in support of local crime prevention projects.
372WA number of forces have indicated an interest in the micro-computers, which have yet to be allocated. It is not the intention to integrate the micro-computers with existing police computer systems. My Department has not entered into any commitment regarding the purchase of computers from this company.