TETRA  |  2023-01-31

UK Police Digital Service Claims Huge Cost Savings on TETRA Subscribers

Curated by: Gert Jan Wolf - Editor-in Chief for The Critical Communications Review

The Police Digital Service (PDS) saved UK police services £27 million in cashable and cost avoidance in its first year. 

In its 2021-22 annual report, it noted the Home Office-verified number, the completion of six national programs, the development of various teams, and the building of a digital solutions catalogue. 

PDS, which leads national digital projects in policing, says its commercial services, such as procurement frameworks for various software and devices and Tetra devices accessories for the Airwave communications network, and the catalogue saved police forces over the last financial year. 

This is a continuation of the work done by its predecessor, the Police ICT Company. 

It also highlights potential savings on certain programmes, including £15.2 million from the Digital Case Files and the completion of National Police Chiefs' Council-initiated national programmes. These include the rollout of Microsoft 365 to 38 forces, the establishment of a national process for the management of police user IDs, the establishment of a cyber security monitoring service for police forces, the implementation of the Government Convergence Framework for securely routing emails over the internet, Frontline Digital Mobility, and the National Standards program.