Uniform software for police

Helen Sage reports

The police force has finally acquired a single software package to help its fight against crime.

After its introduction to the Northumbrian force this month, Analyst's Notebooks software is being used to fight crime by every force in the UK.

The software is used by investigators and analysts to produce a range of charts which can be updated to show criminal associations and sequences of events. Charts are used to clarify connections between criminal groups and sequence of events charts reveal inconsistencies in the material gathered during an investigation.

Mike Hunter, managing director of system suppliers i2, said: "This is the first time an operational software product from a single supplier has been adopted by every force in the country. Notebooks demonstrates that the ideals behind the National Strategy for Police Information Systems work. With all forces using the same analytical software, collaboration between forces is now made much easier."

Analysts Notebooks has played a part in most of the recent major UK criminal investigations, including the Wardell and Rosemary West cases.

The tools are used for all crimes and for incidents where the charts help target resources, promote communication and simplify a complex case.

Karyn Kirk, an intelligence analyst at Hampshire police who has used the system, said: "I have a lot of contact with the users of this software and Analyst's Notebooks has revolutionised the work of the intelligence analyst."