First Three Police Forces to Share Back Office System Supplied by Capita

Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire will become the first three police forces in the UK to share a 'back office' under a collaborative agreement. The secure, shared system, named Origin will be delivered by Capita's secure resource solutions business, under a contract worth £2.3m over 5 years.

The system will streamline three force HR systems into one, taking the 'best practice' elements of each but with significantly reduced system ownership costs for each force.

Origin was developed in partnership with the police and in conjunction with the National Police Improvement Agency with the needs of police forces in mind. It conforms to all current police regulations and is enterprise resource planning (ERP) ready, which will enable police forces to add and integrate other functions such as payroll and financial accounting in the future.

The system will manage all three forces' data for HR, training, duty management, and health and safety. It will deliver significant economies of scale and underpins the longer-term transformation of the back office. It will also provide the capability for other forces in the country to share the system.

Sharing business services and systems is just one of the ways in which the East Midlands forces are saving money, improving productivity and encouraging interoperability.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Goodman, who oversees collaboration between police forces in the East Midlands, says: "Aligning our HR functions provides an opportunity to enhance service delivery and resilience and, significantly, drive down costs. Sharing a single platform across a range of HR functions is a key part of that. For the police, a shared system means reduced costs, enhanced processes and effective business transformation."

Steve McGowan, Head of HR for the Collaboration Programme for the region, adds: "This is a groundbreaking area of collaboration that will save the three forces approximately £900,000 per year once fully implemented. The system will be phased in from October this year and will mean that an HR employee will be able to deal with a request originating from any of the three forces."

Lucy Bailey, managing director of Capita's secure resource solutions business says: "At a time when many police forces across the UK are looking to cut costs and improve efficiency - with as little impact as possible on the front line - tackling the back office is an obvious way forward. Origin is currently used by 30 forces and has demonstrated proven savings, innovative technology and a well-rehearsed implementation process. This is the first three-force collaboration in the UK and one I am sure other police regions will be looking at with interest."