NPIA develops new penalty notice processing system to deal with offenders more efficiently.
02 September 2009
PentiP (Penalty Notice Processing) will improve the recording and processing of two types of one-off financial penalties, reducing red-tape and enabling police officers to spend more time patrolling the streets. The two types of penalty are: Both notices are currently issued on paper and processed by two separate computer systems. PentiP will computerise the issuing of the ticket and bring the two computer systems together into one. Rather than carrying books of tickets, recording offences on paper and then taking them back to the station for processing, police will be able to record information on their hand-held computers. Moving to a central electronic processing system will deliver over £120 million in cashable benefits over 10 years to the police and courts services and improve the accuracy of information on driving offences held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). It will enable the police and magistrates courts in England and Wales to access information on a single administration system and allow the police to make cross boundary checks and share information on a national basis. It is currently stored only at a local level. Frontline officers will also benefit by being able to quickly check whether a penalty notice is the most appropriate method of dealing with an offender or if there is a previously issued unpaid penalty. The NPIA has awarded the contract to design, build, deliver and manage the service to Northgate Public Services. The service is planned to go live from July 2010. This will initially be in Lancashire, Leicestershire and Kent, with nationwide rollout anticipated by the end of 2011. Chief Constable Peter Neyroud, Chief Executive of the NPIA said: "The NPIA looks forward to working with Northgate to deliver a more efficient national system for processing offenders. "Quick access to information is essential to help frontline officers deal with offenders appropriately. PentiP will speed up the administration of penalty notices, cut bureaucracy and give officers more time to spend on the frontline and contribute to a more joined-up criminal justice system." Ian Blackhurst, Managing Director of Northgate Public Safety said: "We are delighted to be awarded this contract by the NPIA to modernise the penalty notice system. "It will be welcomed by police and magistrates courts across the country, helping them to enforce justice fairly, effectively and efficiently. We have a long track record of working in penalty notice enforcement and this contract represents the culmination of our activities in helping to increase public trust through joined up justice and fair enforcement." PentiP is part of the Information Systems Improvement Strategy (ISIS) programme. The aim of ISIS is to transform the way police information services (including IT) are developed, procured, implemented and managed by the police service. ISIS addresses the need to bring about real change in police information systems by joining them up. Notes to editors About Penalty Notices VP/FPO is used to process and manage Fixed Penalty Notices and Conditional Offers for Endorsable offences (points on a driving license) such as speeding, and Non-Endorsable offences such as not wearing a seatbelt. NES is used to process and manage Penalty Notices for Disorder or Fixed Penalty Notices for Anti-Social Behaviour such as disorderly behaviour while drunk. The police currently issue penalty notices to a person in one of the following ways: The financial value of a penalty notice depends on the severity of the offence and ranges from thirty to two hundred pounds. For further information contact the NPIA Press Office on: 020 7147 8297/8308/8310/8424.
About NPIA
NPIA is a single national organisation created to support effective policing. It provides expertise in areas as diverse as information and communications technology, support to information and intelligence sharing, core police processes, managing change and recruiting, developing and deploying people.
The organisation's creation in April 2007 streamlined and simplified the way that policing improvement is delivered locally and nationally. NPIA works for the police service and is governed by a tripartite board comprising ACPO, APA, Home Office and independent members. The ACPO President is a member of the NPIA Board.
About Northgate Public Services
Northgate Public Services is an innovative provider of transformation and improvement services to the public sector. It is committed to high quality public services that place individuals and their communities at their heart. Its knowledge and understanding of people's needs are core to its business, as too, is its depth and breadth across public services.
Northgate's task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology; to understand why and what change is necessary; to provide new thinking leading to improved performance; and to link company rewards with positive outcomes for the communities for whom it works. It supports transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. In the UK, Northgate works with ninety five per cent of local authorities, every police force, and a large number of health organisations, housing associations, utilities and transport companies.
Currently most penalty notices in England and Wales are processed using the Vehicle Procedures/Fixed Penalty Office System (VP/FPO) and Northgate Enforcement System (NES).
