By Vivienne Russell | 27 January 2012
The £80m programme to equip front-line police officers with
mobile technology devices has achieved only basic benefits and is not yet
providing value for money, auditors have found.
The National Audit Office also said that only one fifth of
forces were using the devices effectively to improve their operational and
business processes.
The NAO examined the Home Office’s Mobile Information
Programme, which delivered mobile technology devices, including Blackberrys and
personal data assistants, to officers. By December 2010, 41,000 devices had
been rolled out.
Although this was well ahead of schedule, the NAO said not
enough thought was given to how forces would use the devices or how much local
spending was required.
Cashable savings were also relatively modest. Of the 32
forces surveyed by the NAO only 10 reported any savings, and these were deemed
to be minor.
But the auditors acknowledged that the scheme had allowed
officers to spend more time out of the station and on the beat, an estimated 18
minutes per shift.
NAO head Amyas Morse said: ‘The roll-out of mobile
technology to police forces was achieved against a tight timescale and at reasonable
cost. Too little consideration was given, however, to the need for the devises
or how they would be used. In the majority of forces, the benefits have not so
far extended beyond simply allowing officers to spend more time out of the
station.
‘There is still the opportunity to achieve value for money,
though, if more forces use the technology to improve the efficiency of their
processes and make savings in their back-office activities.’
