A £167 MILLION police computer system, a key recommendation of the inquiry into the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, is three years behind schedule.

Because of the delay, police will not be able fully to share intelligence on suspects until at least the end of the decade.

The Bichard inquiry into police failings during the hunt for Ian Huntley, who was convicted two years ago of killing 10-year-old Holly and Jessica in Soham, recommended the introduction of a national IT system for police intelligence as a “matter of urgency”.

The inquiry’s focus on information-sharing found a huge gap in police IT systems in England and Wales. It recommended that providing police with an IT system in which officers could access intelligence data held by other forces should be “a priority for the Government”.

The Home Office accepted the recommendation and launched Project Impact to provide a common IT system for managing criminal intelligence. It is seen as crucial in preventing a repeat of the intelligence failings surrounding the Soham murders.

A year ago the Home Office promised that the project would be completed by September 2007, when there would be “full data-sharing capability”. That ambitious target has now been abandoned. A newsletter from the Police Information Technology Organisation in August, seen by The Times, shows that full roll-out is not now expected until 2010.

A progress report on the implementation of the Bichard report’s recommendations confirmed last month that the project was already three years behind schedule. It stated:

“Direct sharing of information will roll out to forces progressively between 2007-2010.”

Some police sources claim that the cost implications have alarmed the Home Office at a time when the Chancellor is trying to restrain public spending.

A year ago the Home Office said that the first stage of the project would be accessible to police forces from March 2005, but the letter seen by The Times stated that it would not be implemented until this month. The progress report now says the initial stage will be rolled out only to child investigation units in police forces rather than services as a whole.

Mark Oaten, Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: “The point of Sir Michael (Bichard’s) recommendation was to plug a loophole which could allow a repeat of the Soham murders. The public and parents in particular will want to know why this threat is not going to be properly addressed for another four years.”

BUDGET BUSTERS

£118 million Integris computer system for Probation Service completed late and £22 million over budget

Cost of computer system for magistrates courts soars from £146 million to £390 million

In 2001, computer system aimed at speeding up asylum applications abandoned after multimillion-pound contract with Siemens fails to deliver

£456 million computer system at Child Support Agency blamed for long delays suffered by mothers waiting for payments

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Should Knox’s trial even have reached the courtroom?
• All that glitters is not sold in Wright’s world
• Believe it or not, Big Brother is your friend