New road policing project moves forward

A new information service that will help police to identify road accident hotspots and reduce the number of road-users killed or seriously injured has taken a major
step forward.

The NPIA and the Department for Transport have selected IPL as the supplier to develop software for collision recording and sharing.

The service, known as CRASH, will be introduced in three police forces in early 2010 before being rolled out nationally across England and Wales.

This project will substantially improve the effectiveness of road policing by:

• Replacing the collision reporting forms traditionally completed by police officers at the scene of an accident;

• Improving the accuracy and speed with which road traffic collision data is gathered;

• Providing more up-to-date information on collisions; and

• Removing excessive paperwork.

The service, which will be managed by NPIA PNC Services, will allow police officers to enter information either on a handheld computer or a vehicle data terminal. It will link details
entered at the scene directly to the Police National Computer, enable officers to make digital 'drawings' of collision scenes and automatically send information to the Department for
Transport.

Where multiple collisions occur it will also allow several officers to simultaneously complete different parts of the same report, meaning less time in the station and more time policing
roads.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: "Britain has one of the best road safety records in the world but we are determined to do everything we can to continue making our roads even
safer."

Richard Earland, NPIA Chief Information Officer adds: "By allowing officers attending road traffic accidents to build up information with such unprecedented accuracy and speed the
service will contribute substantially to the ultimate objective of making our roads safer for all users."