Public Sector Roundup: Police help teens with tech

gallery

Varney to advise PM on transformation

Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced he's chosen Sir David Varney as his adviser on public service transformation. Varney will tell the government how to improve service delivery and implement his Transformational Government report from last year - which was commissioned by Brown back when he was Chancellor.

Fans of that report will be pleased, as in this new role, Varney will be required to report annually to the cabinet on service transformation progress.

Databases help Essex police

The Essex Police are using a new computer system to track repeat runaways and another to watch anti-social behaviour.

The Community Policing and Case Tracking (Compact) software speeds up recording and data sharing, an improvement in efficiency over the stacks of paper files which previously made it difficult to keep track of missing persons cases, which often involve repeat runaways.

Sgt Emma Brookes from the Essex Police Missing Persons Project said: "The Compact system will allow us to control all missing persons investigations centrally and within a single database. This will make it much easier for us to access timely information about persistent young runaways and locations where they may be found."

Meanwhile, police in Clacton have said their Nuisance Youth Database has won the support of local parents. The database allows officer to send letters to the homes of young troublemakers - sometimes with an invite to visit their local police station.

Sgt Sharon Wyatt, of the East Clacton Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: "The reports nuisance youths mainly include under age drinking, trespassing and generally intimidating members of the community. The bottom line is we don't want children to get criminal convictions and ruin opportunities in later life. This is an educational tool which has won the support of parents."

Council's e-documents improves call handling

Mid Bedfordshire District Council has implemented Open Text's electronic document and records management system. Before the rollout, it took 21 staff to handle 3,000 calls a month. Now, 18 employees manage 12,000 calls monthly.

The system also helped the council digitise its records, which allowed it to move to a headquarters without a central filing room.

Clive Jones, the council's head of customer services said: "We have efficiency targets set by central government, but we are also determined to keep costs down for our citizens and customers, so we can maintain one of the lowest council tax rates in the country, and deliver the best possible service. Since implementing Open Text we have had very positive feedback, from staff and customers alike, as it makes life easier and more efficient all round."

London authorities team up on content management

The Greater London Authority (GLA) and London Development Agency (LDA) have agreed to a shared service content management system from Amaze and SDL Tridion, which will allow London councils to buy in the service at a lower cost than individual procurements.

Email to a friend

Print this page