PCD 1139 Mobile Video Streaming, Location Services and Tracking

PCD 1139 Mobile Video Streaming, Location Services and Tracking

This decision seeks approval to procure and implement a video streaming and GPS positioning solution that would allow members of public to provide their location and stream video from their mobile devices to police users without having to install software on their device.  

This could for example enable a 999 caller to supplement their description of an incident with a live video. The MPS officers can view live videos via a browser application, together with location information.  

The MPS will utilise the CDW/East Midlands Strategic Commercial Unit (EMSCU) Framework to procure a solution. The contract would be for 2 years with the potential for two additional 12 month extensions and the total cost of the solution of £2,447,900 is funded from Digital Policing budgets.  

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to procurement, subsequent contract award and implementation of video streaming solution for a total cost of £2,447.9K with project revenue spend of £499.3k (£93.5k in 2021/22 and £405.8k in 2022/23), fully funded from the MOPAC Approved Digital Policing (DP) Project Revenue Budget and ongoing revenue spend of £444.1k in 2022/23 and £501.5k per annum from 2023/24 fully funded from the MOPAC Approved Digital Policing (DP) Innovation Budget. 

PART I - NON-CONFIDENTIAL FACTS AND ADVICE TO THE DMPC 

1. Introduction and background  

1. This solution improves engagement with members of the public. It enables members of public to stream videos from their mobile phones, which can be viewed live by officers in the MPS. The solution works by sending a text message to a person’s mobile phone, which contains a link to activate the camera and location services on their phone. This works on any smart phone, without the need for an app to be installed on the phone. All videos are automatically saved for evidential purposes.  

2. Video streaming and location detection will deliver numerous benefits to the MPS: more accurate assessment of incidents, better resource allocation to incidents, risk reduction for frontline officers, richer evidence for crime investigation and prosecution, greater privacy and faster communication for victims. The solution will also open a greater opportunity for members of public to provide information or engage with police.  

3. A number of pilot projects to prove the benefits of the solution have been run:  

• MetCC call handlers viewing live videos to assess whether dispatch is required. 

• TDIU using video in the screening process as well as capturing initial evidence. 

• Compliance with court orders and bail conditions checked via a video link. 

• Missing person located faster using mobile location services. 

• Armed response team passing live videos and exact location to officers in ARVs.   

4. For the victims of crime the use of this technology is optional and in the trials the take up of this technology when offered was in excess of 75%. All victims who chose to use the technology provided positive feedback. 

2. Issues for consideration  

1. This information is contained in the restricted section of the report. 

3. Financial Comments  

1. The procurement, subsequent contract award and implementation of video streaming solution will require a project revenue spend of £499.3k and on-going revenue spend of £444.1k in the first year followed by £501.5k per annum in subsequent years.  

2. The contract will be for 2 years with two possible 1 year extensions, resulting in total cost of £2,447.9K.  

3. These costs are fully funded from MOPAC approved budgets in Digital Policing. 

4. Legal Comments  

1. Legal services were consulted for the use of this technology during the proof of concept, and their guidance adopted to ensure compliance with Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, GDPR, Equality Act 2010, RIPA 2000 etc. On-going consultation with Legal services will form integral part of live deployment of this technology.   

2. All videos captured will automatically be saved to the platform and managed in accordance to MoPI standards, using the relevant retention periods. A gradual increase in Right of Access (ROA) requests may be experienced, however based on learning from other forces, only 1 in 10000 mobile videos resulted in ROA.  

3. Legal services were also consulted regarding the procurement route for this technology. The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime is a contracting authority as defined in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (“the Regulations”).  All awards of public contracts for goods and/or services valued at £189,330 or above shall be procured in accordance with the Regulations. This report confirms the value of the proposed contract exceeds this threshold and also confirms the MOPAC’s proposed route to market is to utilise an external framework agreement (i.e. CDW).   

4. This will be compliant where the MOPAC is a named user of that framework agreement, the scope of the requirement is within that of the Framework Agreement and the ordering processes have been correctly applied. This report confirms the above are met. 

5. The MOPAC Scheme of Delegation and Consent provides the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (“DMPC”) has delegated authority to approve:  

• Business cases for revenue or capital expenditure of £500,000 and above (paragraph 4.8); and 

• All requests to go out to tender for contracts of £500,000 or above, or where there is a particular public interest (paragraph 4.13).  

6. Paragraph 7.23 of the Scheme provides that the Director of Strategic Procurement has consent for the approval of the award of all contracts, with the exception of those called in through the agreed call in procedure.  Paragraph 4.14 of the Scheme provides the DMPC reserves the right to call in any MPS proposal to award a contract for £500,000 or above. 

5. Commercial Issues  

1. The MPS will utilise the CDW/East Midlands Strategic Commercial Unit (EMSCU) Framework to procure a solution.  

2. A full requirements document has been created and passed to the Commercial team for a rapid formal Request for Proposal (RFP) process to be run via CDW. The requirements will ensure the tool is fit for the MPS, including functional and non-functional requirements based on a high level enterprise architecture design completed. This includes scalability requirements for the size of the MPS.   

3. To maximize the benefits of this investment, the solution will be available for an unlimited number of users with continuous rollout across different teams within the MPS. 

6. GDPR and Data Privacy  

1. The MPS is subject to the requirements and conditions placed on it as a 'State' body to comply with the European Convention of Human Rights and the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018. Both legislative requirements place an obligation on the MPS to process personal data fairly and lawfully in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals. 

2. Under Article 35 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Section 57 of the DPA 2018, Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) become mandatory for organisations with technologies and processes that are likely to result in a high risk to the rights of the data subjects. 

3. The Information Assurance and Information Rights units within MPS will be consulted at all stages to ensure the project meets its compliance requirements. 

4. A DPIA has been carried out for pilots and any risks to data privacy successfully mitigated. A new DPIA will be completed before a large scale roll out of the solution. The project will ensure a privacy by design approach, which will allow the MPS to find and fix problems at the early stages of any project, ensuring compliance with GDPR. DPIAs support the accountability principle, as they will ensure the MPS complies with the requirements of GDPR and they demonstrate that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure compliance. 

7. Equality Comments  

1. Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was carried out for pilots where applicable and any risks to equality and diversity were successfully mitigated. There will be an EIA completed for each new use case before it is put into live operation, which will address the impact of using and not using the video technology in specific situations:  

• Where religion, beliefs, disability or other protected characteristics preclude person from using video, there is always an alternative option of communication available to them. 

• Where some members of the community may opt for video communication which may be driven e.g. by their age or disability, this cannot be at their disadvantage.  

8. Background/supporting papers 

1. Report