Failure in police IT system leaves frontline officers at risk

POLICE officers were left at risk of facing dangerous confrontations without backup after an IT failure knocked out key communications, The Sunday Post can reveal.

Those on the front line were told to keep their ears open for cries for help from colleagues because there was no guarantee control room staff in Dundee would hear so-called assistance shouts.

That is because workers in the nerve centre were forced to use hand-held radios to communicate with beat officers after the computer system crashed.

Half of the terminals that serve as the link between those on the streets and staff coordinating the responses crucial to keeping them safe were knocked out last weekend.

An officer in the control room said that communications had broken down on multiple occasions on Friday and Saturday, some of the busiest times for police to receive distress calls, and the force confirmed the problem is still rearing its head despite claims the issue had been fixed.

An email to control room staff by Police Scotland Duty Inspector Paul McCord confirms that “server issues” led to 50% of the communications terminals being “down” last weekend.

In the note, seen by The Sunday Post, he insisted that the problems had been “resolved and should be stable over the remainder of the weekend” with “business as usual” expected by Tuesday.

But Inspector McCord outlined to workers six alternative workstations that could be used “should they be required for any major incidents”, including Perth’s CCTV communications terminal.

Scottish Conservative shadow justice secretary Liam Kerr last night branded the incident “an extremely dangerous failing which jeopardised the safety of both police and the public”.

He said: “Police Scotland is extremely fortunate a major incident didn’t occur while this failing was in progress. It’s completely unfair of Police Scotland to reduce hardworking officers in Dundee to the role of Keystone Cops.”

And George McIrvine, branch secretary for Unison police staff, said officers and civilian staff had been in contact with the trade union to express concern. He added: “This is a very concerning health and safety issue for both the public and the officers and staff involved.”

Crime in Aberdeen is now covered by staff in Dundee after the Granite City’s control room closed earlier this year as part of a controversial money-saving move by Police Scotland.

The cash-strapped single force also plans to shift operations in Inverness to the City of Discovery, with a decision expected in August.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Police Authority, the single force’s watchdog, said backup plans are in place for breakdowns that could impact on the day to day running of the force.

She added: “There was minimal impact internally and we are confident that there was no impact in the local area. The SPA regularly provides oversight and assurance of Police Scotland’s performance in relation to call handling.”

Martin Leven, Police Scotland’s director of ICT, said: “Police Scotland, in line with other organisations, encounters ICT issues from time to time. On Friday, July 7, our site in Dundee encountered some issues with its Integrated Communications Control System.

“Our tried and tested business continuity plans which support the organisation were put in place and worked well. There was little or no impact on local officers.

“There have been some smaller and sporadic re-occurrences since and our investigation into the cause of the incident has confirmed a problem within the third party software system.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Ministers expect the SPA to have robust processes in place to monitor Police Scotland’s performance in relation to all aspects of call handling.”