London's Metropolitan Police Service said this morning that it will use software designed in the 80s to help coordinate the command and communications of its policing operations during the 2012 Summer London Olympic Games in the United Kingdom.
Better known as MetOps, the software in question is currently installed in the force's special operations room (SOR), the central control room providing communications support during more than 500 major incidents and events each year, according to a report by London's police into the riots of August of last year.
MetOps, a messaging and recording system wasn't designed for dynamic incident management, and it means that commanders and police officers have no method to view in real-time the latest situation during an evolving incident, the report says.
The aging MetOps software also system means that it isn't linked directly to the other programs used in the force's central communications center known as the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system.
"This can result in the central communications centre being totally unaware of what is being dealt with within SOR, and conversely SOR being unaware of what is being dealt with through the CAD system," says the report.
The system's serious limitations contributed to a number of issues during the August 2011 riots, the report found, including the inability to monitor key incidents, slow communication with commanders on the ground, the lack of capability to hand over command to the oncoming team and the total inability to log key decisions for future review.
"These significant limitations coupled with the sheer scale of various tasks around the flow of information, communication and coordination of resources posed an immense challenge for those within SOR, particularly on August 8, 2011" the document says.
The process of replacing MetOps is under way and the force has also proposed some temporary solutions, including a new GIS system which is being trialled to assist with the coordination of resources. The Met is also considering adopting software currently used with live crime investigations for SOR.
The questions that are raised now is why did London's police wait until the last minute when they had a whole year to evaluate, plan and design modern software that would have prevented last year's riots. And one of the other question that is being asked now is: will the new software be ready in time for the Olympics which are less than four months from now? And it can take up to a year to fully test drive such complex software once it's available.
The Met's report also highlights the use of CCTV during disturbances. While the document says CCTV proved to be critical to the investigation of offences committed during the riots, it also says that there were significant challenges because of the sheer volume of footage, an estimated 200,000 hours, that had to be thoroughly examined.
The police's response to social media is also examined in the report, which notes that a digital communications steering group has been set up by the Met in response to its struggle to monitor social media in real time during the riots. The group wants to use social media to help the police understand what is going on in the community.
MetOps, a messaging and recording system wasn't designed for dynamic incident management, and it means that commanders and police officers have no method to view in real-time the latest situation during an evolving incident, the report says.
The aging MetOps software also system means that it isn't linked directly to the other programs used in the force's central communications center known as the computer aided dispatch (CAD) system.
"This can result in the central communications centre being totally unaware of what is being dealt with within SOR, and conversely SOR being unaware of what is being dealt with through the CAD system," says the report.
The system's serious limitations contributed to a number of issues during the August 2011 riots, the report found, including the inability to monitor key incidents, slow communication with commanders on the ground, the lack of capability to hand over command to the oncoming team and the total inability to log key decisions for future review.
"These significant limitations coupled with the sheer scale of various tasks around the flow of information, communication and coordination of resources posed an immense challenge for those within SOR, particularly on August 8, 2011" the document says.
The process of replacing MetOps is under way and the force has also proposed some temporary solutions, including a new GIS system which is being trialled to assist with the coordination of resources. The Met is also considering adopting software currently used with live crime investigations for SOR.
The questions that are raised now is why did London's police wait until the last minute when they had a whole year to evaluate, plan and design modern software that would have prevented last year's riots. And one of the other question that is being asked now is: will the new software be ready in time for the Olympics which are less than four months from now? And it can take up to a year to fully test drive such complex software once it's available.
The Met's report also highlights the use of CCTV during disturbances. While the document says CCTV proved to be critical to the investigation of offences committed during the riots, it also says that there were significant challenges because of the sheer volume of footage, an estimated 200,000 hours, that had to be thoroughly examined.
The police's response to social media is also examined in the report, which notes that a digital communications steering group has been set up by the Met in response to its struggle to monitor social media in real time during the riots. The group wants to use social media to help the police understand what is going on in the community.
