CPS contracts with Logica for national IT modernisation

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has signed a multi-million pound ten-year contract with Logica UK to take over the management of its IT infrastructure nationwide.Following a 15-month procurement phase, the CPS has chosen Logica to provide a case management system, called Compass, to all of its 42 areas in England and Wales by the end of 2004.In the meantime, if a three-month pilot proves successful later this year, an interim system will be installed at the end of 2003, providing basic business tools.Project leader Nick Hawkins, chief crown prosecutor for Wiltshire, said: 'We are replacing a ten-year-old network of four reactive case-tracking systems, with one national proactive case management system.

It will enable us to record all case information and allow service users to access it.

This should help us make more effective use of the court's time, leading to cases being seen on time and greater public confidence in the criminal justice system.'Lonny Carey, CPS director of business information systems, said: 'We have a vision in the future of a Compass terminal on the desk of every user in court.

Also, the government has issued a white paper stating that by 2005 every government organisation must be able to exchange files electronically.

The implementation of Compass will allow us to do this.'He added that efficiency within the CPS will increase by 'an incredible amount', saying: 'We waste thousands of hours every year file handling, and must do literally millions of photocopies.

This should slowly be phased out over time.'Andrew Towler