Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group and Leader of the Opposition on Oldham Council, has written once more to Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham with his concerns about the continued shortcomings of the new iOPS (Integrated Operating Policing System).
Councillor Sykes originally wrote to Mayor Burnham on this issue in October 2019 after a number of police officers contacted him about the failings of the new system, and he also met recently with the Mayor and raised the issue with him in person.
iOPS replaced three existing computer systems in July 2019 after a 16-month delay and at an unknown cost, stated at various times to be between £27 and £60 million. The system has been plagued with technical faults and has so far failed to deliver on its promise to improve the efficiency of the Greater Manchester Police Service by aiding its officers in their duties.
Commenting Councillor Sykes said: “The fact that police officers contacted me with their concerns rather than simply keeping them within the force shows that they have real worries about the system. There have been documented situations in which it has been impossible to charge suspects on arrival at a police station or to proceed with court cases because the system has failed to deliver. Most worryingly the response times to 999 emergency calls made by the public, sometimes in life-threatening situations, have quadrupled and domestic violence and child abuse victims have been badly let down.”
A HM Inspectorate of Constabulary report published in March 2020 also found iOPS reduced force performance’ with staff having ‘very little confidence’ in and being ‘frustrated’ by a system that does not always return ‘accurate results’. Yet in October 2019, it was claimed that: ‘The system has remained stable overall’ and is performing as it should’.
Seeking answers on behalf of the ‘many frustrated’ police officers who have contacted him, Councillor Sykes ends his letter with a pointed question to Mayor Burnham: “When will IOPS truly be an asset to aid policing in Greater Manchester, rather than an ongoing liability, and what progress has been made since the report of the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in March?”
The text of the letter below
21 July 2020
Mayor Andy Burnham, Metropolitan Mayor of Greater Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Dear Mayor Burnham,
Re: Failures in the IOPS (Integrated Operating Policing System)
Further to our recent meeting when I spoke of my concerns about the continued failings of the IOPS (Integrated Operating Policing System), I am now writing to you to seek reassurance on the effectiveness of the computer system and an update on progress since the damning report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in March of this year.
I first wrote to you about the inadequacies of the system in October of last year, after I had received complaints from numerous police officers about its effectiveness. The system was meant to replace three previous IT systems and to create a seamless interface to respond to calls from the public and improve force performance by enabling officers to access, process and act on information more efficiently.
In the response received from Deputy Mayor, Baroness Beverley Hughes, on your behalf, Assistant Chief Constable Sykes reported that: ‘the system has remained stable overall’ and “is performing as it should’.
This assessment does not tally with the more recent findings of the Inspectorate in March which reported the introduction led to ‘reduced force performance’ with staff having ‘very little confidence’ in and being ‘frustrated’ by a system that does not always return ‘accurate results’. More worryingly, the Inspectorate also found that vulnerable people were being failed by the system, with ‘serious’ backlogs in dealing with domestic abuse and child protection cases and a significant delay in response times to 999 calls (up to 48 seconds, instead of 12).
Lawyers have also reported that court cases have been unable to proceed because of failures in the system preventing papers being filed with the court and many suspects have been released after arrest because the system has not enabled officers to charge them.
In February, Greater Manchester Police declared a ‘critical incident’ when the entire Police Works system, a system within IOPS, collapsed following a failed upgrade. GMP in its public statement said that ‘contingency plans are in place for the capture of data’, an euphemism to describe the reality that officers had to use old-fashioned pen and paper!
IOPS was delivered 16 months late at a human cost to the taxpayer, yet to be identified; figures quoted in media reports range from £27 million to £60 million.
The Inspectorate found there were technical faults in the system which were ‘worse than anticipated’ and these were clearly still present in March. Mr Mayor, when will IOPS truly be an asset to aid policing in Greater Manchester, rather than an ongoing liability, and what progress has been made since the report of the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in March?
The many frustrated police officers who have been in contact with me about this would like to know.
Yours sincerely – Howard Sykes