The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has signed a £34m IT services deal with Fujitsu.

The contract – which will involve a team of 100 Fujitsu staff – consolidates five separate arrangements into a single managed service. It includes management of 24/7 support desk, as well as the maintenance and service of 8,000 PCs and 10,000 laptops, phone and data networks, applications hosting and CCTV systems.

The force hopes the programme will have a direct impact on front line officers, said PSNI head of information and communications services John Tully.

"Policing is a highly reactive service, therefore the delivery of IT needs to be able to match the organisation’s ability to respond urgently," he said. "The PSNI’s IT systems and services are critical to policing in Northern Ireland."

The aim is to make it easier to manage and report IT performance, freeing up internal staff for other projects.