techUK launches strategic partnership agreement with the Police Digital Service
The change from the Police ICT Company, which focused on procurement and working with forces on their digital transformation journeys, to the Police Digital Service (PDS) sees the service taking on a more extensive role fueled by the launch of the National Policing Digital Strategy in January 2020 and the need for more forces to deliver against its ambitions.
Briefing techUK’s Justice and Emergency Services Management Committee, the group heard from Ian Bell, Chief Executive, Police Digital Service the mission and its role in delivering capabilities for smarter, digitally enhanced police forces where digital, data and technology are at the forefront of police decision making for improving cost efficiencies and safeguarding the public.
Over the coming months we will see the service take charge of 12 digital transformation programmes:
The National Enabling Programmes (including the National Management Centre for Cyber Security), Digital Case File, Frontline Digital Mobility, Video Enabled Policing, The Law Enforcement Capability Model, E-Disclosure, The Government Commercial Framework, Data Exploitation, National Standards, Journey to the Cloud, Security, Digital Design Authority.
Strategic Partnership Agreement
The agreement has been put in place to increase industry awareness of the remit and objectives of the Police Digital Service and techUK among the policing and supplier communities. It exists to support a more transparent and accessible market for technology in policing as we look to strengthen relationships between policing and the private sector to empower the sharing of public safety responsibilities.
The agreement aims to move towards more strategically aligned, collaborative, relational and sustainable commercial arrangements where requirements and solutions are developed together, underpinned by innovation and joint creative thinking. See National Policing Digital Strategy
The Police Digital Service is delighted to announce this new, formal agreement with techUK which enables an exciting synergy between the Company, as a central coordinating organisation for UK Policing, and techUK, as an industry voice and national champion for technology innovation.
"The Police Digital Service is constantly working to strengthen relationships between policing and the private sector to empower the sharing of public safety responsibilities, and to support a more transparent and accessible market for technology in policing. Our agreement with techUK will help us achieve this.
Our organisations have worked closely together before, but this agreement means a more united and streamlined approach to our efforts to deliver the National Policing Digital Strategy, in particular empowering UK policing with the technology it needs to stay ahead of crime and better protect the communities it serves"
I am genuinely delighted to be signing this agreement on behalf of techUK’s Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Committee. We have worked closely with Ian and the team at the Police ICT Company, now the Police Digital Service, over the last three years and would like to congratulate them for the outstanding job they have done in getting to this stage.
"UK Policing continues to be the best in the world. However, the challenge of policing in an ever-changing digital world, with the continually emerging serious threats that technological advancements present (whilst at the same time dealing with traditional crime!) needs significant investment in new technology. This message is starting to land and it is heartening to see the Police Digital Service being recognised and supported in their efforts to address this.
We represent over 300 suppliers to the market, each of whom bring their own specialisms and each of whom are excited at the prospects of playing an important part of the journey as Policing Digital Service becomes the natural home for national technology solutions for UK Policing".
Through this agreement we have formalised techUK’s long standing relationship with Police ICT Company and, now through their transitioning period to the Police Digital Service we will further enhance this relationship as we work with techUK members active across the Policing market.
"With the challenges we have seen over the last 12 months, and opportunities for digital transformation, I am delighted to be working closely with the Police Digital Service as they strive to achieve their ambitions under the National Policing Digital Strategy".
Georgie Morgan
Georgie joined techUK as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager in March 2020, then becoming Head of Programme in January 2022.
