The Knowledge Hub is getting a major upgrade over the weekend of 29 to 31 August 2025. This upgrade will improve usability, performance, and security, making it easier for users to collaborate, manage documents, and access resources across policing. While upgrades and changes take place, the Hub will NOT be available to use, so please make sure you […]
The Police Digital Service (PDS) has launched the National Police Capabilities Environment (NPCE) as an assured platform on Microsoft Azure. The NPCE has been designed to host and manage live policing IT solutions across the UK, providing a trusted national environment to support the development, deployment, and scaling of digital policing tools. The NPCE will […]
The Police Digital Summit is over for another year, and wow, what an event it has been! The 2023 Summit, co-hosted by the Police Digital Service (PDS) and the National Police Technology Council (NPTC) has been bigger and better than ever, with a record 477 delegates joining us in Brighton. A huge thank you to our […]
“Data is second most critical asset that policing holds outside of its people, which is of course its number one.” That is how Aimee Smith, Director of Data at the Metropolitan Police Service (MET) and current co-chair of the National Police Data and Analytics Board, describes the importance of data for policing. Data permeates and […]
Policing has traditionally sent prosecution case information to the Crown Prosecution Service (or CPS) on documents, initially paper versions and more latterly on electronic document templates. The Digital Case File project will move policing from using these documents to completing structured pre-set data fields, much like the experience many of us have booking a flight or filling out […]
“We believe strongly that we are only as good as our people, so it’s really important to us to attract and retain the best talent and to make them feel supported and valued.” The Police Digital Service is a finalist in the category of ‘Best Place to Work in Digital.’ Computing talked to Kath Stephenson […]
The Police Digital Service (PDS) is planning to set up a new framework for law enforcement organisations to procure a decision and case management system. Read more Credit: Mark Say 27.06.2023
The Police Digital Service (PDS) is exploring how digital, data and technology can support victims, investigators and forensics teams. Funded by the Home Office and working with policing and tech providers, we are supporting the response to the government’s End-to-End Rape Review Report, in partnership with Operation Soteria Bluestone, which is working to transform the […]
The National Policing Digital Strategy is hugely ambitious, setting out goals to respond to complex criminality, accelerating levels of cyber-crime and the borderless nature of crime against a backdrop of the enduring challenge around efficiency, effectiveness and funding. How is PDS helping police forces enabling the change required to meet these challenges? Read more Credit: […]
Policing has long struggled to deliver digital transformation programmes, especially those seeking to replace major pieces of legacy IT; but with COVID-19 adding fresh impetus to the digital agenda and the national strategy set for a ‘refresh’, Ian Bell, CEO of the Police Digital Service, sees exciting opportunities on the horizon. Read more Credit: James […]
The Police Digital Service’s (PDS) Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) function is central to the transformation of the policing IT estate. Thanks to a well-resourced, skilled, and experienced team, DDaT is paving the way to a more effective delivery of the National Policing Digital Strategy and providing access to a range of capabilities that solve […]
A new set of simple digital tools used to arrange police interviews and organise officer appearances in court are now being rolled out to forces across England and Wales by the Police Digital Service; although still in the early stages, it’s been estimated that the Video Enabled Policing programme could save more than £60m a […]
Police forces and partners across the criminal justice system are grappling with significant pressures and challenges. There is a constant need to keep pace with and respond to changes with digital, data and technology. Often, police officers and staff are reliant on outdated and mostly manual processes, which leads to less time available and capability […]
After the recent bruising inspectorate assessment of digital forensics across England and Wales, the development of a new fingerprint capability – rolling out in the East Midlands from next month – offers a more positive story; this new digital tool, developed through Transforming Forensics, could speed up investigations, improve standards, and show the value of […]
We’re excited to share our first PDS Annual Report 2021-22. During this time, we’ve brought new areas of business online, established several national teams, created a digital solutions catalogue, successfully completed six national programmes, and delivered £27 million in cashable and cost avoidance savings through our Commercial Services. We’re proud to have achieved so […]
The Police Digital Service (PDS) has claimed a total of £27 million in cashable and cost avoidance savings for UK police forces through its work over the first year of its operation. Read more Credit: Mark Say 31.01.2023
