Justice & Emergency Services Management Committee - Interim Statement

16 May 2019 05:27 PM

We are now entering the 2nd of our 2-year tenure as the Management Committee of the Justice and Emergency Services (JES) Programme.  I wanted to take this opportunity at the half-way point to reflect on what we have achieved to date and where our efforts will be focussed for the remainder of our time.

The main aim that we defined just over a year ago was to create strong relationships between our members and the public sector customers that we supply to (the three blue lights services, law enforcement, the Home Office, and the wider criminal justice system), as well as to act as a critical friend where needed.

We wanted to lead debate on new technologies, optimise use of existing capabilities and provide a forum for law enforcement to engage with industry. This included closer working with the public safety sector to help them act as an intelligent client when procuring technology. As a committee representing companies within the tech sector at a high level to Government, we wanted to help set the strategic direction, contribute to forward planning and ensure the strategy accurately reflects members’ priorities.

One Year in and What Have We Done?

Looking back over the last twelve months, we have seen a definite improvement in the relationship that we have with leading stakeholders in our industry.  We’ve established good working relationships with the leads of the Police ICT Company (PICT) and the Digital Policing Portfolio (DPP).  This has led to an agreement to use the PICT Knowledge Hub as a vehicle for improved communications between policing and industry so that industry can get a view of the longer-term intentions of policing and policing organisations can seek input and clarifications on these intentions before they come to market.  We have also agreed to meet twice-yearly to facilitate open communications at a strategic level to make sure that things are working for all sides and to identify and agree any changes that are necessary to keep everything aligned.

More than ever before, we are seen as a strategic ally of policing transformation, with leaders in the PICT, the DPP, National Police Technology Council (NPTC) and the National Enabling Programmes (NEP) regularly reaching out for our technical assistance and input. For example, we hosted a session to provide strategic review of the forthcoming Digital, Data and Technology Strategy that is being defined by PICT, making sure that the views of industry were considered. It is through supporting these programmes that we find important opportunities for the meaningful change that we as a collective body are tasked with driving.

We also provided input to support and inform the horizon scanning project, Justice 2030, once again providing industry support and advice to underpin the future of the justice system.

The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police helped us close the year with her JES Reception keynote address, acknowledging the need for policing to work even more closely with the tech community, all while managing the important ethical considerations that come into play with new technologies.

Events in 2018 include:

So, what’s to come?

Throughout the next twelve months, we will continue with our commitment to work with and deliver meaningful change in the public safety sector. We will further develop our good relationships with PICT, DPP, NEP and NPTC to drive greater clarity of communication and better collaboration between clients and the supplier community.

We are dedicating ourselves to improving the state of interoperability in policing software and services, with our new Interoperability Initiative, chaired by Mark Goossens, and with Clare Elford and Raj Singh as the Vice Chairs. This is a recently launched, important initiative that already has the support of policing leaders.

The group is also cultivating relationships with the wider emergency services ecosystem, such as with the National Fire Chiefs’ Council. Where possible, we are keen to share the experience, lessons learned and best practice from transformation in policing so that the UK’s critical public safety services are kept at the forefront of technological change.

Upcoming events include:

The Committee invites techUK’s members to reach out with ideas, opportunities and concerns that should be considered as part of the programme for the remainder of our tenure. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the members for their support to date and look forward to their continued engagement and enthusiasm as we drive the programme forward for the next year.

Allan Fairley

Chair, Justice & Emergency Services Committee