West Midlands Police selects Accenture for £25m digital transformation project

HP to design IT infrastructure to support new systems

West Midlands Police (WMP) and West Midlands Office of Police and Crime have selected Accenture to manage a digital transformation project in a five-year contract worth about £25m.

Accenture was chosen after a tender process, and will aim to provide WMP with new digital capabilities to future-proof the organisation and achieve cost savings. The project will kick off with the design of a new "operating model" for the force that will help shape and inform operational decisions from 2015 to 2020, this will be developed by the force with the help of its partners, local communities and stakeholders.

Accenture aims to provide project and program management, business change and system integration services to WMP. It also bids to work with the force to introduce mobile technologies for front-line police officers in order to increase the time they spend on patrol.

In addition, WMP wants digital technologies to be accessible by citizens in order to extend communication with police services and be able to view public safety information.

Accenture said that it will assist WMP in analysing existing police data using analytic tools in a bid to support ongoing police investigations.

Meanwhile, HP will design a new IT infrastructure to support the new technologies that will deployed at the force.

Chris Sims, chief constable of WMP emphasised the importance of the force having the latest technologies available to assist to help protect communities and fight crime.

"A more efficient operating environment supported by the greater use of technology will help us deliver better service to the public while reducing costs and maintaining a strong visible presence on the streets," he said.

The five-year contract has the option for a three-year extension period.

Under terms of the agreement, payments to Accenture will be linked to certain outcomes that are closely aligned to overall force performance in areas such as budget savings.