The police digital radio system, Airwave, has now been delivered to all forces in the UK, the Home Office announced on 1 April 2005. According to an official statement, more than 100,000 police staff are using the £2.3bn system and the national network has now been completed.
There are still over 50,000 users still to adopt the system, which is not yet fully operational, however.
The Airwave radio replaces the outdated analogue systems and aims to improve sound quality and coverage for officers. It also offers access to databases such as the Police National Computer (PNC) and local systems.
The Police Information Technology Organisation (Pito), and its PFI supplier 02 Airwave are responsible for the national infrastructure, but it is up to local forces to tailor the system to meet local requirements.
Home Office minister Caroline Flint said the system helps with other law and order initiatives.
"For the first time, officers throughout Great Britain will be able to communicate directly with each other regardless of location. Airwave will improve the safety of officers and will prevent criminals from 'listening in.'
"Implementing Airwave also supports the government's drive towards neighbourhood policing: helping officers to be out in the community accessible and responsive to public needs."
Pito's director of communication Martha Wooldridge said: "From a reliance on a patchwork of local, poor quality radio systems with patchy coverage all forces can now look forward to clear and secure voice and data communication with a level of area coverage they have never experienced."
The organisation says it has delivered Airwave on time and to budget, but admits that there have been a series of "teething problems".
"We had an initial delay with the roll out, but O2 then caught up with the schedule," said Wooldridge.
"It has not been as easy for forces to accelerate their training programmes and this is why take up has been slower than expected."
Originally, Pito expected over 130,000 officers and staff to be using Airwave by autumn of this year. This target has been delayed until March 2006, when the system will have 160,000 users, a figure which has increased along with staffing levels.
Pito also hopes to increase the applications and linkages to other police databases.
"It has been patchy but it is getting better," Wooldrige told Government Computing News. "The PNC developments were a bit later than we wanted. Initial technical problems have been overcome and forces are now much more confident with the system."
Woodridge said that by next year, the Airwave system is hoped to become increasingly used for accessing data and links to key systems such as the National Fingerprint Database should be available "soon". Pito is also in talks with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to give police mobile access to vehicle owners data through Airwave.
Quelle: KableNET, 01.04.2005
