In conversation with ACC Chris Sykes, Greater Manchester Police
You can watch the full session here –
Chris has responsibility for GMP’s contact centre, crime prevention, criminal justice and custody – areas where interoperability is extremely important in improving the services GMP provides both to the people of Greater Manchester and its frontline officers.
Chris identified 3 pillars regarding what interoperability means for GMP –
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Connected systems
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Data management
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Improved victim support
Key principles of interoperability
He recognised that a lack of ‘connected systems’, both locally and nationally, was causing delays in receiving up-to-date information and interoperability would allow for the exchange of data and information in real-time whilst also removing the need for manual input of information by officers, freeing up time and resources.
Another key principle of interoperability is efficient ‘data management’, in-particular ensuring that data is rapidly captured, and shared between multiple sources. Furthermore, this data must be able to be displayed to staff in real-time.
And finally, the last key tenant of an interoperable system is ‘improved victim support’. Victim services was used to highlight that timely, automated services are available to victims via interoperability, however that these services needed to be able to adapt and respond quickly to changing trends and needs. Chris went on to express frustration at the current lead time needed to change contemporary systems and any future interoperable network would be required to make any necessary adjustments in a timely manner.
Identifying the challenge
Chris underscored several reasons as to why this challenge exists. Modern systems connected to old legacy systems, which often don’t have the availability of Application Programming Interface (API), raise multiple challenges in ensuring these systems are able to interconnect. Furthermore, there are issues regarding different suppliers providing different technologies stacks, often making it impossible to connect systems. The same problems arise when systems are developed in isolation.
A lack of interoperability amongst existing systems has led to considerable processing times, heavily impacting on productivity levels within GMP and police forces countrywide. Moreover, Chris highlighted that a lack of real-time data significantly delays decision-making which was having a considerable impact on how GMP operated. This, combined with the amount of admin time that was needed to process and display relevant information, resulted in even the most basic of decisions taking up a vast amount of senior management time.
The negative impact of lack of interoperability
The area where a lack of interoperable systems was having the most impact was within victim support services. Indeed, a victim service assessment report outlined that GMP was failing victims of crime and there have been 70,000 missed victims of crime. The report detailed that GMP could make better use of available technology to electronically contact victims and display the status and progression of crimes, including issues reported on Single Online Home. By investing in enhanced technology, GMP has been able to tangibly improve the services it provides for victims.
How GMP is driving and prioritising interoperability
Having outlined the impact of a lack of interoperable systems, Chris then detailed the steps GMP are taking in achieving interoperability. Step 1: GMP have undertaken a multi-year IT transformation programme which will replace several legacy systems with modern IT platforms capable of supporting multiple systems. Chris credited the roll-out of GMP’s mobility program, which aimed to put mobile phones in the hands of every frontline officer, in changing the way their IT systems interconnected. The smart phones could connect to a range of systems, therefore becoming the catalyst for a more integrated IT system.
Step 2: This progressed into the introduction of a new command and control system, ‘Control Works’, and their records management system, ‘Police Works’. Both systems needed to be integrated with national systems in order to ensure the free flow of information between relevant systems. Therefore, GMP implemented a customised integration platform to connect the Crime Works and Police Works systems to facilitate real-time operational needs.
Step 3: The setup of force priority, which has enabled seamless connectivity. Integration support was built-in to new contracts which will ensure that future systems can be connected.
Chris then used several case studies to showcase the benefits of an interoperable system.
Case studies
iOPS Dashboard
iOPS dashboard which pulls data from multiple systems and displays it to control room supervisors and frontline officers via their mobile devices. This data can be broken down into policing districts and allows for trend analysis across a number of metrics.
MARPLE
Chris highlighted the benefits of a new crime input tool called MARPLE. The levels of interoperable systems have allowed GMP to put a user interface over their records management system to improve productivity and efficiency, indeed Chris stated that they are seeing a 30 – 40 % reduction in the time taken to record a crime.
Single Online Home
Single Online Home (SOH) bot which has reduced duplication of data from the SOH national system by GMP officers. This was developed by suppliers when Chris asked if they could develop a bot that would be able to read the PDFs created by SOH and auto-create a Control Works incident in GMP’s command and control system. Chris has estimated that this has saved 5 minutes per incident and frees up 5 officers every day that would otherwise have been typing up PDFs. Both MARPLE and the SoH bot are connected to GMP’s victim contact system and sending initial crime numbers, then automatic updates, to victims electronically.
Q | Steve Norris, recently elected vice-chair of techUK’s Interoperability in Policing Working Group, then asked Chris how GMP overcame some of the cultural challenges in adopting new ways of working and how he managed solve some of the technological capability issues such as data stored in different types of databases, for example Excel and SQL.
A | Regarding culture, Chris outlined that it's about understanding what products work well and enhance a police officer’s work. He also stated that a lot of work is now done remotely and one of his biggest achievements has been the removal of desktop computers from stations. Chris said that having an integration partner has been crucial in integrating platforms and working closely with providers has ensured that the right product has been delivered.
Q | Steve went on to ask what GMP’s interoperability ‘nirvana’ would look like. Chris specified that GMP’s aim is to have a system where they can pull together all their data into any type of display mechanism. He also expressed that current systems have naturally evolved into other areas – for example they are now looking at automating Firearms licensing via similar bot technology as Single Online Home. He also expressed a desire to move the public on to digital channels when contacting the police so as to reduce the demands on officers.
Chris then answered a few questions from the audience.
Q |If Chris could ask three things from the industry, what would they be?
A | 1. Chris observed that his main irritation with policing is individual forces using different complex systems, so he shares the frustrations of industry and providers in navigating that.
However, 2. he went on to say that he would “like suppliers to consider the amount of processing time required within policing and suppliers need to understand that when developing a system and to really highlight the efficiency gains of their products”. He expressed a desire for suppliers to be pragmatic in what they can deliver now, rather than developing a solution that could take two years to implement. 3. His final ask of industry was to keep engaging with police forces via channels such as the National Police Chiefs’ Council and techUK to really showcase their products.
Unfortunately, we ran out of time for Chris to answer any further questions – however, he very kindly provided answers to the following questions via e-mail:
Q: What does data ownership mean to you?
A: Data ownership to me means the individual / organisation responsible for the safe keeping and righteous use of data. As a police force we capture and store lots of data and are responsible / accountable for its security and usage and more importantly ethical use of the same.
Q: All suppliers have delays for system changes. How do you propose to get around this?
A: It has to be a partnership approach where both suppliers and customer should share a common vision / goal. System changes need to be assessed during procurement process and at times also need to be supported by some contractual incentives.
Q:How do you deal with/ connect to information held at different classifications perhaps internally but also across other government departments?
A:Information with different classification are managed and handled within the core system like RMS, Command & Control System etc. Interoperability enables the communication and exchange of the information among these systems. API security standards have been implemented in the APIs which enables the interoperability.
Q: Have you removed the need for front line staff to rekey information onto your various systems once they have recorded incident information in the field?
A: This is a journey and I would say and we are making good progress. There are still areas where frontline staff have to rekey information and we are working towards reducing those instances on a continual basis.
Q: Are we at risk of duplication when much of this and more has been achieved under the TOEX project ie drawing in data from multiple data sources.
A: Not really. Both Interoperability in GMP and TOEX project are different. While, interoperability in GMP has enabled all the systems to communicate and exchange information within GMP, TOEX is more of a national initiative which provides dedicated intelligence and analytical expertise for undertaking complex investigations.
Q: If you could ask industry for three things, what would they be?
A: Transparency, Ease of Use, Shared Ownership / Goal.
Q: Have you managed to reduce the lead times for changing fields/ drop downs etc?
A: Yes for the new developments. This however varies depending on the system and supplier we are talking about.
Q: Are there plans to further enhance the SOH service provided to the public by providing automatic or self-service updates on cases? Could this include 101 cases?
A: Yes potentially. Solution has the capability to extend and support both – automatic & self-service updates along with handling of 101 cases.
Q: Automation is fascinating – in addition to the questions about what it can do etc what considerations/ process was given to ensure the automation etc is ethical?
A: Right automation is not only fascinating but unavoidable, however this need to be managed carefully and in most cases in a staged manner. While the first stage of doing tedious work via computers is straight forward, second stage of achieving a full automation is where due considerations need to be made on the ethical part as data/insights that might come as a result could be unproven intelligence and may lead to unfair use
Q: You have clearly done excellent work with your integration partner HCL. Do you think having an integration partner with that holistic view across all systems is imperative to success? Or do you think this would still be possible trying to manage various disparate providers across numerous platforms in-house?
A: Having a Systems Integration partner who has the holistic view is absolutely key to achieving this success. Most of the work here is deeply integrated where seamless information flow is critical and that is hard to achieve if no single provider has the overarching view of the landscape.
Q: By using the same vendor for integration platform and mobile software, are you locking in to the mobile solution?
A: No is the short answer. Does not matter if it’s the same vendor or different they still need to be developed or integrated in the right way and support interoperability.
Please reach out to me at [email protected] to find out more about techUK's work across interoperability and our plans for the next few years. Furthermore, techUK would welcome representatives from police forces across the U.K to deliver similiar sessions on their respective interoperability journeys - if this would be of interest please do get in touch.
Georgie Morgan
Georgie Morgan
Georgie joined techUK as the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme Manager in March 2020, progressing to Head of Programme in January 2022. Her portfolio then expanded in January 2024 where she now leads our work across fraud and economic crime.
In her current role, Georgie leads techUK’s engagement and initiatives across the blue light and criminal justice sectors. She works closely with industry and stakeholders to drive innovation, address challenges, and anticipate future needs, while showcasing the critical role technology plays in delivering essential public safety and justice services. Through the JES programme, she provides a platform for suppliers, helping them navigate and establish themselves in the blue light and criminal justice markets.
Before joining techUK, Georgie spent four and a half years managing a Business Crime Reduction Partnership (BCRP) in Westminster. Collaborating with the Metropolitan Police and local councils, she focused on mitigating the impact of crime on the business community. Her efforts spanned addressing low-level street crime and anti-social behavior to managing critical incidents and violent crime.
- Email:
- [email protected]
- LinkedIn:
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgie-henley/
Robert Walker
Robert Walker
Robert joined techUK in October 2022, where he is now Programme Manager for Health and Social Care.
Robert previously worked at the Pension Protection Fund, within the policy and public affairs team. Prior to this, he worked at the Scottish Parliament, advising politicians and industry stakeholders on a wide range of issues, including rural crime and health policies.
Robert has a degree in Politics and International Relations (MA Hons) from the University of Aberdeen, with a particular focus on strategic studies and energy security. Outside of work he enjoys activities such as running, rugby, boxing and cooking!
- Email:
- [email protected]