Met Police gets ball rolling on digital policing masterplan

Earlier this year the force admitted much of its IT was designed in the 80s

The Metropolitan Police has kicked off a search for IT suppliers to overhaul its IT systems in a deal which could soar to as high as £150m.

In a tender document published over the weekend, the force said it is hunting for between three and six IT partners to supply it with consulting, software development, internet and support services, hardware and software integration and software testing as part of its Total Technology Policing Infrastructure (TTPI) SIAM Services deal or Digital Policing initiative.

Earlier this year, the Met published its Total Technology Strategy 2014-2017 in which it detailed plans for a "once-in-a-generation" change to modernise its aging IT. In the document it admitted that some of its technology was designed in the 80s and 90s. Last year the force came under fire from the London Assembly, which said its technology was so old it pushed London's crime rate up.

The contract to help overhaul the force's technology will be worth between £40m and £150m over five years – with the option to extended by two years – according to the tender document.