Recommendation R3: Police IT procurement review
From The Bichard Inquiry Report, published 22 June 2004.
Recommendation
The procurement of IT systems by the police should be reviewed to ensure that, wherever possible, national solutions are delivered to national problems.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry asked the Home Office to review police IT procurement for national solutions. In May 2007, the department stated that the implementation of actions from an initial procurement review was vested in the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) on 1 April 2007 (Home Office, May 2007). In September 2021, the National Audit Office (NAO) found that a committee of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) coordinated procurement, while each police force remained responsible for establishing, procuring, and maintaining its own local information and communications technology (ICT) systems (Gareth Davies, Sep 2021; Gareth Davies, Sep 2021).
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
The independent review team is due to report its findings on stage 1 to Ministers by the end of February 2005. The findings of the review will be published.
Blanket government agreement does not establish acceptance or delivery by each addressee. Some response passages cover groups of recommendations.
Scope of the government response
The Government accepted all 31 recommendations collectively: the Home Secretary's written statement of 11 January 2005 records that "All 31 recommendations were accepted by the Government when the Inquiry reported in June 2004". No document states an acceptance decision for any single recommendation. The response shown against each recommendation is the Home Office's answer to it in the first progress report, sent to Sir Michael Bichard on 22 December 2004 and placed in the Library of the House on 11 January 2005. The Government then reported against the recommendations three more times, in November 2005, May 2006 and May 2007; the updates shown are taken from those reports.
Delivery
Home Office says in progress (22 May 2007)
Following the initial consideration of police information technology procurement completed under the PITO End-to-End Review in 2004 and subsequent review of its outcomes by ministers, the implementation of actions arising from this work was vested in the NPIA on 1 April 2007.
From: Bichard Inquiry Recommendations: Fourth Progress Report
What other bodies have found
In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.
National Audit Office (8 September 2021)
Each police force is responsible for establishing what local ICT systems it requires, and then procuring and maintaining them.
From: The National Law Enforcement Data Programme, Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General
Earlier findings (1)
National Audit Office (8 September 2021)
Currently, this role is filled by a committee of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which the police created to better coordinate the procurement of ICT systems.
From: The National Law Enforcement Data Programme, Gareth Davies, Comptroller and Auditor General
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Home Office
Response, delivery statement - National Audit Office
Finding