National Police contract for PDMS

National Police contract for PDMS

Castletown based software company PDMS have recently been awarded the contract to supply the content management and database software for The UK Police National Legal Database (PNLD). The contract was awarded following an international tendering process against stiff competition from some of the best known names in the software industry. This further establishes PDMS' ability to compete in this market from their base on the Isle of Man.

The PNLD system is an important legal training and information resource for all Forces in England and Wales, as well as other organisations including: The British Transport Police, the Ministry of Defence, the National Criminal Intelligence Service and the Crown Prosecution Service. PNLD is run by a dedicated team of authors and legal specialists based at the headquarters of West Yorkshire police in Wakefield. The system will be available to all forces via CJX, the criminal justice secure network, and also as a stand alone application delivered on CD-ROM. PNLD are also working with PDMS on a version of the system which will be made available commercially over the internet.

Heather Croft PNLD Director and Giles Milner of PDMS Demonstrating the PNLD database at the Association of Chief Police officers Conference in Birmingham

Heather Croft, Business Director of PNLD stated, “We are delighted that PDMS are to be our software partners. We believe this is a long-term relationship and an important one for the development of the Legal Database”.

One of the strengths of the PDMS solution is the combination of high quality software components which meet the main functional requirements of the project for content management and security and the software engineering resource to combine these elements into a system which fits the specific business needs of PNLD.

Chris Gledhill Managing Director of PDMS said, “We are particularly pleased to be involved in this project because it provides a clear opportunity to improve the efficiency with which vital information is delivered to over 190,000 potential users right across the criminal justice sector”.

This project is the third significant project PDMS have undertaken in the Criminal Justice sector since they identified it as a potential market for their skills. The first, a case management system developed for the probation service here in the Isle of Man, was singled out for praise during a recent inspection by the home office. It provides case workers with their day to day information and document management requirements, as well as reviewing performance against national standards, and providing management information.

The second is the crime, lost and found property system developed for West Midlands Police which is now being used operationally after extensive acceptance testing. This is a major business system for the second largest force in the UK and provides a web browser based interface and an integrated central database. This application will be used at all of the 21 main Operational Command Units across the West Midlands Force.

Giles Milner, Director of PDMS and PNLD account manager stated, “We are looking forward to building our relationship with PNLD and aim to provide a content management solution which matches the requirements of all Forces. We also hope that this will provide us with further insights into the IT requirements of the Criminal Justice sector so that we can continue to develop effective solutions for this market”.