New system would be used to store digital assets used in investigations Credit: Flickr, Alan Cleaver

Kent Police is seeking a supplier to build a new system that will be used for storing and managing vital information used in criminal investigations.

The force is looking for a single preferred supplier to both develop a proof-of-concept for a new digital asset management system and enter into a framework agreement that could see the system rolled out right across the UK.

Kent Police has put the overall value of the contract at up to £49m. In a notice posted on Contracts Finder, the force said the new system would be used to store digital assets used in investigations.

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That includes footage gathered from CCTV, body-worn and dash cameras; information gleaned from smartphones; crime scene material; phone calls; digital interviews; and material from its Serious Collision Investigation Unit.

It adds: “The system must have analytic capabilities to identify digital assets that may be related and identify individuals and objects in images.”

According to the document, the new system must be able to interface with a range of other police and public sector platforms, including the shared police communications system Athena - hosted by Northgate Public Services - and the records management system Niche.

The force also stresses the need for the new asset management system to be able to securely share information with third parties including the Crown Prosecution Service, Border Force and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

Earlier this year, HMIC's chief inspector Thomas Winsor used his State of Policing Report to warn that a “culture of insularity, isolationism and protectionism” [1] had prevented police forces from making the most of the technology available to them, and hindered sharing of information between regions.

"Used well, modern technology should give the police an unprecedented ability to exchange, retrieve and analyse intelligence," he said. "But that is only possible if the intelligence is made available in the first place.”

Kent Police say the proof-of-concept work carried out on its behalf will be worth £1.5m, with a further half a million up for grabs if the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner proceeds with a call-off contract under the framework.

There will then by a further £1m for each call-off contract awarded by other UK police forces who wish to make use of the system - meaning the supplier could eventually serve all 48 UK police forces with a combined value of £49m. The contract is set to start in January next year, and those interested in working with the force have until July 17 to put their names forward.