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{{Short description|Former public body in the United Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
{{Infobox law enforcement agency
|agencyname = National Policing Improvement Agency
|abbreviation = NPIA
|logo = National Policing Improvement Agency (logo).png
|mission =
|dissolved = 7 October 2013
|formed = 1 April 2007
|preceding1 = Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO)
|preceding2 = ]
|preceding3 = National Police Training
|preceding4 = ]
|employees = 1,629 (September 2011); 2,100 (2009)
|volunteers =
|budget = £380M (2011/12); £474M (2008/09)
|nongovernment =
|country = United Kingdom
|countryabbr = UK
|national = Yes
|map = UKPoliceNational.PNG
|mapcaption = ], ], ]
|sizearea = 244 821 km² / 94,526 sq mi
|sizepopulation = 60,609,153
|legaljuris = ], less in Scotland and ]
|governingbody = ]
|governingbodyscnd =
|constitution1 =
|overviewtype =
|overviewbody =
|headquarters = London
|hqlocmap =
|hqlocleft =
|hqloctop =
|hqlocmappoptitle =
|minister1name =
|minister1pfo =
|chief1name =
|chief1position =
|superseding = ]<br/>] (now ])<br/>]
|footnotes =
|reference =
}}


The '''National Policing Improvement Agency''' (NPIA) was proposed by ] as a response to the UK Government's green paper ''Building Safer Communities Together''. The stated objectives of the NPIA is to support i) the delivery of more effective policing and ii) a culture of self-improvement around ]. The '''National Policing Improvement Agency''' ('''NPIA''') was a ] in the United Kingdom, established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.


It was announced in December 2011 that the NPIA would be gradually wound down and its functions transferred to other organisations. By December 2012, all operations had been transferred to the ], the ] (SOCA) and the newly established ].<ref name=npia>{{cite web |url=http://npia.pressofficeadmin.com/component/content/article/40-npia-updates/573 |title=NPIA moves towards closedown |last1=Pinel |first1=Jeremy |date=9 December 2012 |publisher=National Policing Improvement Agency |accessdate=10 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122163957/http://npia.pressofficeadmin.com/component/content/article/40-npia-updates/573 |archivedate=22 January 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> SOCA was itself replaced by the ] on 7 October 2013 as a feature of the ], which also formally abolished the NPIA.<ref name=MayNCA>{{cite news |title=National Crime Agency hailed by Home Secretary Theresa May |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24418847 |newspaper=BBC News |date=6 October 2013 |accessdate=6 October 2013}}</ref>
The NPIA unifies and transforms the work of several precursor agencies, such as the '''Police Information Technology Organisation''' (PITO), ], a small number of ] staff and the National Centre for Policing Excellence. PITO and Centrex were both abolished when the NPIA became operational.


==History==
The key priorities of the NPIA are set by the National Policing Board, established in July 2006 to help strengthen the governance of policing in England and Wales. The National Policing Board, chaired by the Home Secretary, has a tripartite membership from the Home Office, ACPO and the APA.
The motivations for creating the National Policing Improvement Agency were laid out in the 2004 Police Reform white paper ''Building Communities, Beating Crime'' which stated: "...the mechanisms for national policing improvements are disparate and overlapping." Additionally, in 2004 ] commissioned an end-to-end review of the ] (PITO) which concluded that "The tripartite governance structure is inappropriate for efficiently and effectively delivering services" and that "PITO as a concept is fundamentally flawed".


The NPIA was proposed by the ] for England & Wales (ACPO) as a response to the UK government's green paper ''Building Safer Communities Together''. The stated objective of the NPIA was to support the delivery of more effective policing and foster a culture of self-improvement around ]. Unlike PITO, it was planned that it would not be solely a supplier of national police IT systems. The key priorities of the NPIA were set by the National Policing Board, established in July 2006 to help strengthen the governance of policing in England and Wales. The ], chaired by the Home Secretary, has a tripartite membership from the Home Office, ACPO and the ] (APA).
The motivations for creating the NPIA were laid out in the 2004 Police Reform white paper ''Building Communities, Beating Crime'' which stated: "...the mechanisms for national policing improvements are disparate and overlapping." Additionally, in 2004 ] commissioned an End-to-End Review of PITO which concluded that "The tripartite governance structure is inappropriate for efficiently and effectively delivering services" and that "PITO as a concept is fundamentally flawed".


The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) became operational on ] ]. ] is Chief Executive and in September 2006 Peter Holland was appointed as the first chair of the NPIA. The estimated staff of the NPIA as at 1 April 2007 was 1772, and the expected income for 2007-08 was £484m <ref></ref>. The ] created the NPIA in law, and it became operational on 1 April 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldconst/18/8011603.htm |title= Memorandum by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) |date=December 2007 |publisher=Parliament.uk |accessdate=10 February 2013}}</ref> Upon formation, the estimated staff of the NPIA was 1772, and the expected income for 2007–08 was £484m .<ref></ref> The agency took over the work of several precursor agencies including the ] (PITO), ] (including the National Centre for Policing Excellence), and a small number of ] staff. PITO and Centrex were both abolished when the NPIA became operational. The NPIA had formal responsibilities in respect of police forces in England and Wales but, unlike PITO, not for the eight Scottish forces.


] ] was the agency's first Chief Executive.<ref>{{cite news |title=Police chief to improve UK forces |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/4379596.stm |newspaper=BBC News Online |date=27 October 2005 |accessdate=10 February 2013}}</ref> He retired from the police service in December 2010 after submitting an independent review of police training and leadership to the Home Secretary. NPIA Deputy Chief Executive ] was temporarily promoted to Chief Constable and became temporary Chief Executive of the NPIA in September 2010, when Neyroud began his independent review – the appointments were confirmed in January 2011.


Peter Holland ] was appointed as the first chair of the NPIA board in September 2006 and was extended in his role as chair by the Home Secretary in late 2010, when Neyroud announced his retirement. The board had representatives of the tripartite governance of policing: ACPO, APA and the Home Office.
==Objectives of the NPIA==


The NPIA had a number of challenges to meet, the implementation of the ] after the ] and the McFarland Report regarding police IT and PITO, made the development, implementation and standardisation of new police technologies a major national priority. The development of doctrine and policy in conjunction with the ] (ACPO), encouraging a national police strategy in terms of purchasing of equipment and bringing about universal police standards in areas such as training, development and leadership were all fundamental priorities and objectives of the agency. The ] report 'Closing the Gap' recommended closer working and partnerships especially in strategic areas such as protective service, and the first trial Collaboration Demonstration Sites were announced by the Home Office.<ref></ref>
To achieve its objectives, the NPIA co-ordinates organisational change across policy, processes, staff and technology both at national programme level and also with the county Forces. For Police information technology, the NPIA builds upon ]'s ] Strategy 'ISS4PS', which calls on the police service to work together to adopt common standards, products and services.


In 2007, Peter Neyroud said that by creating a consensus with police forces and having some powers to mandate IT strategy over police forces, the agency would succeed where PITO had failed.<ref></ref>
The NPIA provides the following functions at a national level -


The agency was the subject of critical comment (externally and internally) as a consequence of high levels of staff turnover and the results of a damaging staff survey in the first year of its operation, which revealed high levels of staff dissatisfaction on a range of issues. Difficulties with recruitment and retention necessitated high levels of expenditure on contractors and private sector consultants to maintain service provision in some business units.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2007/10/01/42626/three-staff-a-week-quit-national-policing-improvement-agency.html |title=Three staff a week quit National Policing Improvement Agency |publisher=Personnel Today |date= 1 October 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/03/25/45018/poor-management-at-police-improvement-agency-hits-front-line-police-operations.html |title=Poor management at police improvement agency hits front-line police operations |publisher=Personnel Today |date= 25 March 2008}}</ref>
* National information systems such as the ], ] and ], the national ] and palm print system


On 1 April 2008, the ] was merged into the ]. The ARA Centre of Excellence, which trained and accredited Financial Investigators, was moved to the National Policing Improvement Agency where it was called the Proceeds of Crime Centre.<ref></ref>
* Specialist training for high-tech crime, ] and major investigations


===Replacement===
* Clear and secure voice communication through the ] service
The government set out its ambitions for the future of policing in its 2010 ], ''Policing the 21st Century''. This stated that{{quote|The NPIA has done much to bring about welcome changes to policing. In particular, it has acted as a catalyst for identifying areas for efficiency gains within forces, encouraging greater collaboration and identifying where economies of scale can be realised through national ]. It has succeeded in the first stage of rationalising a number of different agencies responsible for supporting police forces. But now is the right time to phase out the NPIA, reviewing its role and how this translates into a streamlined national landscape.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/118244/chapter-four.pdf |title=4.44 The National Policing Improvement Agency |page=11 |website=www.gov.uk|access-date=2023-09-19}}</ref>}}


The Home Secretary ] gave a speech to the House of Commons on 15 December 2011 in which she unveiled plans to replace the NPIA with a new police professional body and a separate company responsible for procuring information technology for police forces. The NPIA was due to be replaced by these new organisations during 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/parliamentary-business/written-ministerial-statement/future-npia-wms/ |title=The future of the National Policing Improvement Agency – WMS |last1=May |first1=Theresa |date=15 December 2011 |publisher=Home Office |accessdate=9 February 2013}}</ref>
* Round the clock specialist operational policing advice to guide forces through murder investigations, public order events, major incidents and searches


On 1 April 2012, the Missing Persons Bureau, Central Witness Bureau, Specialist Operations Centre, Crime Operational Support and Serious Crime Analysis Section transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), as an interim measure ahead of SOCA's migration into the new ] on 7 October 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soca.gov.uk/news/433-five-specialist-units-join-soca |title=Five specialist units from the NPIA join SOCA |date=1 April 2012 |publisher=Serious Organised Crime Agency |accessdate=7 February 2013}}</ref>
* National development programmes to nurture the next generation of police officers at all levels from PC to the senior ranks.

==Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS)==

The Serious Crime Analysis Section, based at ] in ] is made up of crime analysts and specialist ] staff who analyse crime under specific criteria - essentially ] and serious ] and motiveless or sexually motivated ] cases.

The Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) was initiated by the ] in 1998 with one main objective - to identify the potential emergence of ] and serial ] at the earliest stage of their offending. Whilst this objective remains at the heart of SCAS remit, far more services have been developed for investigators of serious crime, with other services continually under development.

SCAS receive crime case files at an early stage in their ] from all forces in the ] (including Scotland and the PSNI) through a network of contact officers employed in ] departments in every force.

In order to carry out this difficult and complex casework, all information is coded and placed onto one single database - ViCLAS (Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System). This system was developed in Canada by the ]. The coding of criminal behaviour is a painstaking process and is carried out by highly trained Assistant Crime Analysts at SCAS.
The NPIA retained responsibility for the training and accreditation of financial investigators until that moved to the National Crime Agency. However the Proceeds of Crime Centre was hosted for the NPIA by SOCA from October 2012.
The investigating officer receives a report from a crime analyst with a number of key elements designed to assist the investigation. It will identify if there are grounds to believe that the offender has previously been identified. It will also provide a breakdown of the ] exhibited in the ], often with a ] description of some of the elements involved. This can alert an investigator to the importance of some aspects of the offence not immediately apparent.


By December 2012, all other remaining NPIA operations had transferred to the Home Office (who took on the IT functions), SOCA and the newly established ] (who took on training, workforce related functions and the ]).<ref name=npia/><ref name=MayNCA/>
SCAS are also responsible for identifying good practice, or "what works", so the analyst's report may contain "investigative suggestions" that might guide the officer to a specific line of enquiry not yet considered. The report may also suggest possible suspects that the unit has identified from a number of databases.


A detailed statement of where NPIA operations transferred is on the agency's website.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.npia.police.uk/en/19482.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130118034942/http://www.npia.police.uk/en/19482.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=2013-01-18 | title=NPIA: Where have NPIA products and services moved to?}}</ref>
When a prime suspect has been identified and charged with an offence, senior analysts are able to provide specialist evidence in ], to assist with the ] of offenders.


In September 2012 Nick Gargan was seconded to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary before becoming Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset in March 2013. Paul Minton, the Deputy Chief Executive of the NPIA, became acting chief executive and acting chief constable in September 2012 up to 31 December 2012.
==Crime Operational Support==


Peter Holland's term of office as Chair expired on 31 December 2012. He was succeeded by Chris Hughes, who had chaired the NPIA's audit and risk committee.
Crime Operational Support aims to support the police service through provision of specialist operational skills and to assist in the resolution of exceptional crime series and operational critical incidents.


After the transfer of operational functions, a small team remained in the agency to close it down. The NPIA was closed on 7 October 2013 on the coming into force of the Crime and Courts Act.
There are four ] teams of investigative advisers support regional investigations. These teams are supported with the specialist skills of crime investigation officers, ] investigative advisers and geographic profilers. In addition Crime Operational Support ensures that all relevant good practice in serious crime investigation is identified and disseminated.


==Objectives==
Crime Operational Support can also provide assistance with case study workshops and seminars. Case study workshops have proved a valued tool in providing Senior Investigating Officers with ideas for progressing enquiries. At both national and regional seminars are held offering an opportunity for the continuous ] development of SIOs.
To achieve its objectives, the NPIA co-ordinated organisational change across policy, processes, staff and technology both at national programme level and also with the county forces. For police information technology, the NPIA built upon ]'s ] Strategy 'ISS4PS', which called on the police service to work together to adopt common standards, products and services.


The NPIA provided the following functions at a national level:
Crime Operational Support Advidors include:


* National information systems such as the ], ] and ] (the national ] and palm print system)
* Regional Advisers and Crime Investigation Support Officers (CISOs)
* Specialist training for high-tech crime, ] and major investigations
* National Search, Interview and Family Liaison Advisers
* Clear and secure voice communication through the ] service
* Behavioural Investigative Advisers
* Round the clock specialist operational policing advice to guide forces through murder investigations, public order events, major incidents and searches
* Geographic Profiler
* National development programmes to nurture the next generation of police officers at all levels from PC to the senior ranks.
* Physical Evidence Section
* The National Injuries Database

==National Injuries Database==

The National Injuries Database is part of the Physical ] Section and is a national resource to support serious crime investigations for the analysis of weapons and wounds.

It is mainly victim focused and can search for cases to identify possible similarities between a victim's wound/s and specific injury patterns and/or possible weapons. This is particularly useful for an investigation team in cases where the nature of the injuries are unknown and the weapon has not been identified. The ] currently holds over 4,000 cases of suspicious deaths, ] and clinical cases. It also has more than 20,000 ].

Medical, forensic, scientific and police reports combined with ], ] and ] provide information for the NID. It is anticipated that future developments will allow the NID to be linked into the national ] system to increase the size and breadth of the ].

Services that are available through the NID include:

* The Serious, ] Assault and Attempted Murders Database. This is linked to the NID allowing comparisons of injuries to be made between live and dead victims.
* The ] Programme. This can display photographs from up to four cases simultaneously on one screen. This can be useful for the ] of a potential series.

* To support and coordinate, with an independent image consultant, the technique of digital superimposition/image overlay used to compare weapon images with wound patterns. This has frequently been used for potential footwear impressions on skin.

* To facilitate and support the provision of second opinion and cold case review work. A wealth of expertise has been generated through close working relationships with ] pathologists and other medical experts.


==Police National Missing Persons Bureau (PNMPB)==

The Police National Missing Persons Bureau will be moved from New ] in April 2008 to sit within the NPIA at ].

The PNMPB acts as the centre for the exchange of information connected with the search for missing persons nationally and internationally.

This specialist unit focuses on cross matching missing persons with unidentified persons/bodies. Other key activities include:

* Maintaining records of missing persons and unidentified persons/bodies

* Maintaining a dental index of ante-mortem chartings of long term missing persons and post-mortem chartings from unidentified bodies

* Managing a missing persons and Child Rescue Alert website

* While these services will continue under NPIA, the investigative support service will be significantly enhanced to ensure that missing person investigations and reviews receive access to specialist in-house advice whenever needed.

* Sitting alongside the Serious Crime Analysis Section, the bureau will provide tactical analytical support to inquiries and produce strategic assessments of the missing person phenomenon in the UK.

Further developments will include:

* Carrying out analysis of data, identifying trends, patterns of disappearance and developing the potential capability to produce strategic and tactical assessments

* Reviewing the current state of unidentified bodies within forces and encouraging forensic reviews where possible

* Raising missing persons awareness

* Developing policy and best practice


==Training== ==Training==
The NPIA offered training courses at four core sites:
* which was also home to the ] Secretariat known as CEPOL, International Police Leadership Programmes and programmes related to the development of future police leaders and management within the ] Services.
* in ], was home to ] Hi-Tech Police Training including ], e- forensics, ] crime and training using Hydra and Minerva ] simulators to construct major crime ] scenarios and events in real time.<ref></ref>
* near ] in ], was the NPIA's specialist ] training facility and had undergone a £10 million upgrade.<ref></ref><ref></ref>
* – ] training (CBRN) is carried out at the Police National ] Centre at ] in ], in conjunction with the CBRN HQ at the NPIA's ] facility, which is also an ] training base and the HQ for ]'s .


The Bramshill and Harrogate centres transferred to the ownership of the Home Office on the NPIA's cessation of operations, with the College of Policing renting space. The Ryton and Harperley Hall sites and the tenancy at Wyboston passed to the newly formed ].
The NPIA offers ]courses at four core sites:

* is home to the ] Secretariat konwn as CEPOL, International Police Leadership Programmes and programmes related to the development of future police leaders and management within the ] Services.

* in ], is home to ] Hi-Tech Police Training including ], e- forensics, ] crime and training using Hydra and Minerva ] simulators to construct major crime ] scenarios and events in real time. <ref> </ref>

* near ] in ], is the NPIA's specialist ] training facility and is currently undergoing a £10 million upgrade. <ref> </ref> <ref></ref>

* ] - Chemical, Biological, Radiation and Nuclear Training (CBRN) is carried out at the Police National ] Centre at ] in ], in conjunction with the CBRN HQ at the NPIA's ] Facility, which is also an ] training base and the HQ for ]'s .

From April 2008 the ] will become part of the ] and the ARA Centre of Excellence, which trains and accredits Financial Investigators, will be moved to the National Policing Improvement Agency. <ref></ref>


==Technology== ==Technology==
The NPIA took on much of the work of the former Police Information Technology Organisation.


This included:
The Following Police ] Programmes are managed by the NPIA.

* ]

* AirwaveSpeak

* Corporate Data Model (CorDM) and Corporate XML (CorXML) for the Police Service

* ] (FIND)

* ] and CasWeb

* ]

* Identity Access Management (IAM)

* Information Systems Strategy for the Police Service (ISS4PS)


* Management of the use of the ] communication network by UK police forces
* Corporate Data Model (CorDM) and Corporate XML (CorXML) for the Police Service
* ] and CasWeb
* ]
* Identity Access Management (IAM)
* ]
* Information Systems Strategy for the Police Service (ISS4PS)
* Lantern * Lantern

* Mobile Information * Mobile Information

* National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS) * National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS)
* National Management Information System (NMIS)
* National Management Information System (NMIS) * National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS)
** Browser Access

** Command and Control (CnC)
* National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) - Browser Access
** Custody and Case Preparation Programme

** Human Resources (HR)
* National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) - Command and Control (CnC)

* National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) - Custody and Case Preparation Programme
* National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS) - Human Resources (HR)

* National Video Identification Strategy (NVIS) * National Video Identification Strategy (NVIS)
* PentiP – Penalty Notice Processing
* PNN – ]
* PentiP - Penalty Notice Processing

* PNN - Police National Network

* ] (PNC) * ] (PNC)
* The Vehicle Procedures and Fixed Penalty Office (VP/FPO) system
* ]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.npia.police.uk/en/10510.htm |title=Dangerous Persons Database – ViSOR |access-date=6 February 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122061433/http://npia.police.uk/en/10510.htm |archive-date=22 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Vehicle Procedures and Fixed Penalty Office (VP/FPO)


The ] (FIND) project, and a project to deliver a national case management system for child abuse investigations, were cancelled in early 2008 due to budget pressures.
* ViSOR - Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System


==See also== ==See also==
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
Line 179: Line 144:
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}


== External links == == External links ==
* {{Official website|http://www.npia.police.uk/}}


{{Home Office (United Kingdom)}}
*
{{Authority control}}
*
*
*

== References ==
<references/>


]
]
]
]
] ]
] ]
]
]

Latest revision as of 12:21, 2 October 2023

Former public body in the United Kingdom

Law enforcement agency
National Policing Improvement Agency
{{{logocaption}}}
AbbreviationNPIA
Agency overview
Formed1 April 2007
Preceding agencies
Dissolved7 October 2013
Superseding agencyCollege of Policing
Serious Organised Crime Agency (now National Crime Agency)
Home Office
Employees1,629 (September 2011); 2,100 (2009)
Annual budget£380M (2011/12); £474M (2008/09)
Jurisdictional structure
National agency
(Operations jurisdiction)		UK
Operations jurisdictionUK
England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland
Size244 821 km² / 94,526 sq mi
Population60,609,153
Legal jurisdictionEngland and Wales, less in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Governing bodyHome Office
Operational structure
HeadquartersLondon

The National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom, established to support police by providing expertise in such areas as information technology, information sharing, and recruitment.

It was announced in December 2011 that the NPIA would be gradually wound down and its functions transferred to other organisations. By December 2012, all operations had been transferred to the Home Office, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and the newly established College of Policing. SOCA was itself replaced by the National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013 as a feature of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which also formally abolished the NPIA.

History

The motivations for creating the National Policing Improvement Agency were laid out in the 2004 Police Reform white paper Building Communities, Beating Crime which stated: "...the mechanisms for national policing improvements are disparate and overlapping." Additionally, in 2004 Hazel Blears commissioned an end-to-end review of the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO) which concluded that "The tripartite governance structure is inappropriate for efficiently and effectively delivering services" and that "PITO as a concept is fundamentally flawed".

The NPIA was proposed by the Association of Chief Police Officers for England & Wales (ACPO) as a response to the UK government's green paper Building Safer Communities Together. The stated objective of the NPIA was to support the delivery of more effective policing and foster a culture of self-improvement around policing in the United Kingdom. Unlike PITO, it was planned that it would not be solely a supplier of national police IT systems. The key priorities of the NPIA were set by the National Policing Board, established in July 2006 to help strengthen the governance of policing in England and Wales. The National Policing Board, chaired by the Home Secretary, has a tripartite membership from the Home Office, ACPO and the Association of Police Authorities (APA).

The Police and Justice Act 2006 created the NPIA in law, and it became operational on 1 April 2007. Upon formation, the estimated staff of the NPIA was 1772, and the expected income for 2007–08 was £484m . The agency took over the work of several precursor agencies including the Police Information Technology Organisation (PITO), Centrex (including the National Centre for Policing Excellence), and a small number of Home Office staff. PITO and Centrex were both abolished when the NPIA became operational. The NPIA had formal responsibilities in respect of police forces in England and Wales but, unlike PITO, not for the eight Scottish forces.

Chief Constable Peter Neyroud was the agency's first Chief Executive. He retired from the police service in December 2010 after submitting an independent review of police training and leadership to the Home Secretary. NPIA Deputy Chief Executive Nick Gargan was temporarily promoted to Chief Constable and became temporary Chief Executive of the NPIA in September 2010, when Neyroud began his independent review – the appointments were confirmed in January 2011.

Peter Holland DL was appointed as the first chair of the NPIA board in September 2006 and was extended in his role as chair by the Home Secretary in late 2010, when Neyroud announced his retirement. The board had representatives of the tripartite governance of policing: ACPO, APA and the Home Office.

The NPIA had a number of challenges to meet, the implementation of the Bichard Inquiry after the Soham Murders and the McFarland Report regarding police IT and PITO, made the development, implementation and standardisation of new police technologies a major national priority. The development of doctrine and policy in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), encouraging a national police strategy in terms of purchasing of equipment and bringing about universal police standards in areas such as training, development and leadership were all fundamental priorities and objectives of the agency. The HMIC report 'Closing the Gap' recommended closer working and partnerships especially in strategic areas such as protective service, and the first trial Collaboration Demonstration Sites were announced by the Home Office.

In 2007, Peter Neyroud said that by creating a consensus with police forces and having some powers to mandate IT strategy over police forces, the agency would succeed where PITO had failed.

The agency was the subject of critical comment (externally and internally) as a consequence of high levels of staff turnover and the results of a damaging staff survey in the first year of its operation, which revealed high levels of staff dissatisfaction on a range of issues. Difficulties with recruitment and retention necessitated high levels of expenditure on contractors and private sector consultants to maintain service provision in some business units.

On 1 April 2008, the Assets Recovery Agency was merged into the Serious Organised Crime Agency. The ARA Centre of Excellence, which trained and accredited Financial Investigators, was moved to the National Policing Improvement Agency where it was called the Proceeds of Crime Centre.

Replacement

The government set out its ambitions for the future of policing in its 2010 white paper, Policing the 21st Century. This stated that

The NPIA has done much to bring about welcome changes to policing. In particular, it has acted as a catalyst for identifying areas for efficiency gains within forces, encouraging greater collaboration and identifying where economies of scale can be realised through national procurement frameworks. It has succeeded in the first stage of rationalising a number of different agencies responsible for supporting police forces. But now is the right time to phase out the NPIA, reviewing its role and how this translates into a streamlined national landscape.

The Home Secretary Theresa May gave a speech to the House of Commons on 15 December 2011 in which she unveiled plans to replace the NPIA with a new police professional body and a separate company responsible for procuring information technology for police forces. The NPIA was due to be replaced by these new organisations during 2012.

On 1 April 2012, the Missing Persons Bureau, Central Witness Bureau, Specialist Operations Centre, Crime Operational Support and Serious Crime Analysis Section transferred from the National Policing Improvement Agency to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), as an interim measure ahead of SOCA's migration into the new National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.

The NPIA retained responsibility for the training and accreditation of financial investigators until that moved to the National Crime Agency. However the Proceeds of Crime Centre was hosted for the NPIA by SOCA from October 2012.

By December 2012, all other remaining NPIA operations had transferred to the Home Office (who took on the IT functions), SOCA and the newly established College of Policing (who took on training, workforce related functions and the National Police Library).

A detailed statement of where NPIA operations transferred is on the agency's website.

In September 2012 Nick Gargan was seconded to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary before becoming Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset in March 2013. Paul Minton, the Deputy Chief Executive of the NPIA, became acting chief executive and acting chief constable in September 2012 up to 31 December 2012.

Peter Holland's term of office as Chair expired on 31 December 2012. He was succeeded by Chris Hughes, who had chaired the NPIA's audit and risk committee.

After the transfer of operational functions, a small team remained in the agency to close it down. The NPIA was closed on 7 October 2013 on the coming into force of the Crime and Courts Act.

Objectives

To achieve its objectives, the NPIA co-ordinated organisational change across policy, processes, staff and technology both at national programme level and also with the county forces. For police information technology, the NPIA built upon ACPO's information systems Strategy 'ISS4PS', which called on the police service to work together to adopt common standards, products and services.

The NPIA provided the following functions at a national level:

  • National information systems such as the Police National Computer, National DNA Database and IDENT1 (the national fingerprint and palm print system)
  • Specialist training for high-tech crime, forensics and major investigations
  • Clear and secure voice communication through the Airwave service
  • Round the clock specialist operational policing advice to guide forces through murder investigations, public order events, major incidents and searches
  • National development programmes to nurture the next generation of police officers at all levels from PC to the senior ranks.

Training

The NPIA offered training courses at four core sites:

The Bramshill and Harrogate centres transferred to the ownership of the Home Office on the NPIA's cessation of operations, with the College of Policing renting space. The Ryton and Harperley Hall sites and the tenancy at Wyboston passed to the newly formed College of Policing.

Technology

The NPIA took on much of the work of the former Police Information Technology Organisation.

This included:

  • Management of the use of the Airwave communication network by UK police forces
  • Corporate Data Model (CorDM) and Corporate XML (CorXML) for the Police Service
  • HOLMES2 and CasWeb
  • IDENT1
  • Identity Access Management (IAM)
  • Impact Nominal Index
  • Information Systems Strategy for the Police Service (ISS4PS)
  • Lantern
  • Mobile Information
  • National Firearms Licensing Management System (NFLMS)
  • National Management Information System (NMIS)
  • National Strategy for Police Information Systems (NSPIS)
    • Browser Access
    • Command and Control (CnC)
    • Custody and Case Preparation Programme
    • Human Resources (HR)
  • National Video Identification Strategy (NVIS)
  • PentiP – Penalty Notice Processing
  • PNN – Police National Network
  • Police National Computer (PNC)
  • The Vehicle Procedures and Fixed Penalty Office (VP/FPO) system
  • ViSOR – Dangerous Persons Database

The Facial Images National Database (FIND) project, and a project to deliver a national case management system for child abuse investigations, were cancelled in early 2008 due to budget pressures.

See also

References

  1. ^ Pinel, Jeremy (9 December 2012). "NPIA moves towards closedown". National Policing Improvement Agency. Archived from the original on 22 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  2. ^ "National Crime Agency hailed by Home Secretary Theresa May". BBC News. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
  3. "Memorandum by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA)". Parliament.uk. December 2007. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  4. NPIA Business Plan 2007
  5. "Police chief to improve UK forces". BBC News Online. 27 October 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  6. Protective Services – Home Office
  7. What will the NPIA do for police IT? – Computer Weekly
  8. "Three staff a week quit National Policing Improvement Agency". Personnel Today. 1 October 2007.
  9. "Poor management at police improvement agency hits front-line police operations". Personnel Today. 25 March 2008.
  10. Proposed merger of the Assets Recovery Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency
  11. "4.44 The National Policing Improvement Agency" (PDF). www.gov.uk. p. 11. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  12. May, Theresa (15 December 2011). "The future of the National Policing Improvement Agency – WMS". Home Office. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
  13. "Five specialist units from the NPIA join SOCA". Serious Organised Crime Agency. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 7 February 2013.
  14. "NPIA: Where have NPIA products and services moved to?". Archived from the original on 18 January 2013.
  15. Hydra and Minerva simulators
  16. Murder mile to help crack crimes
  17. Old cement works find new lease as crime scene training base – Nov 2007
  18. "Dangerous Persons Database – ViSOR". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.

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