Following the recent announcement that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have abandoned the ‘PoliceWorks’ part of their failed iOps computer system, Stockport Liberal Democrats have called on Andy Burnham to commission and publish a full report into the true cost and impact of this long drawn out experience.
Cllr Tom Morrison, Lib Dem representative on the GM Police, Fire and Crime Panel, said: “We knew for several years that the new computer system was failing. At last the new Chief Constable has done what should have happened under his predecessor and abandoned this mission-critical system that was not fit for purpose. As well as wasting around £70m of public money, Greater Manchester has had several years where residents have been unable to rely on their local police to correctly record and investigate crime, leading to a hidden explosion of criminality.
“I am calling on Andy Burnham and Bev Hughes, as the politicians responsible to our residents for holding the police to account, to commission and publish a report into the true cost and impact of this sorry episode. How much has actually been spent in buying and trying to make this system work? How much has been recovered from the supplier? How much is the replacement system costing? And what has been the additional cost of crime and the personal impact on residents in Stockport and elsewhere across Greater Manchester because our police force was unable to operate effectively during this time?”
Cllr Mark Hunter, Leader of the Lib Dems at Stockport Town Hall, added: “This has been a complete waste of public money on Andy Burnham’s watch. He says it was procured before he became mayor but, by his own account, he failed to ensure the former Chief Constable and his team were effective in its implementation. The problems with iOps were being reported in our local press, and being vehemently denied by the former Chief Constable, almost from day one back in 2019.
“This is an utter shambles and our residents deserve to know exactly what this has cost both in terms of public money and in terms of unreported and additional crimes committed across the region.”