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Grant Funding Project Dorothy 2020/21

Key information

Reference code: PCD 974

Date signed:

Decision by: Sophie Linden, Deputy Mayor, Policing and Crime

Executive summary

This decision seeks approval to accept the grant funding from Bedfordshire Police of £569,000 for 2020/21. The funding will support the development of Project Dorothy a project to enhance the digital capability to tackle high harm vulnerability in the internet including some of the highest harm offenders seeking to commit Child Sexual Abuse. The scale of the threat continues to grow exponentially, and technical innovation is essential to keep pace. Project Dorothy has been instigated to address key technology requirements for the MPS and the national network in support of this work.

Recommendation

The Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime is recommended to approve the acceptance of grant funding totalling £569,000 from Bedfordshire Police to upgrade the MPS Dorothy system that will also provide a suitable platform for the national network.

Non-confidential facts and advice to the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime (DMPC)

1. Introduction and background

1.1. Project DOROTHY is an innovative technical solution that will assist the deployment of the national online network. It will deliver:

• secure deployments online through virtualisation

• transform the security and efficiency of evidential product transfer, in order to significantly improve CJS outcomes

• increased agility of supervision of online operations, improving oversight and governance.

• Capture, store and share data internally / externally between supervisor, intelligence, operational teams and the national network.

• Reduce operating costs

• Reduce the threat of operational compromise.

1.2. This proposal will further support the development of the digital capability to enable the transfer of data efficiently and securely from different operating systems.

2. Issues for consideration

2.1. The proposed grant funding will support the MOPAC Police & Crime Plan by addressing priority issues including violence against women and girls and keeping children and young people safe.

2.2. Project Dorothy was developed at the instigation of the MPS and a basic system was produced, whereby all costs were accommodated in house.

2.3. The funding, which has now been awarded to the MPS, supports the upgrade to the Dorothy system. This allows for increased capability and functionality providing a faster and more efficient service. It creates additional capacity should further expansion of the system be viable.

2.4. Since the beginning (2018) Dorothy has been run and supported by the Met Operations 3 (MO3) and will continue to do so in the same manner while being used exclusively by MO3 MPS. Any further expansion to other Law enforcement (LE) will be determined by ongoing support and costs, and does not form part of this application.

2.5. The work on the upgrade of the system is nearing completion and this decision recommends the acceptance of grant funding from Bedfordshire Police to meet the costs of the investment.

3. Financial Comments

3.1. This proposal seeks approval to accept £569,000 of Bedfordshire Police grant funding for 2020/21. The grant funding will meet the costs of equipment, cloud computing, testing, software and staffing costs as set out in Appendix 1.

3.2. The MPS has assured that any on-going costs associated with acceptance of the grant funding will be met from within the existing MPS resources.

4.1. The legal powers applicable to the acceptance of the Grant will be under Schedule 3, Paragraph 7 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 which provides that, “7(1) The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime may do anything which is calculated to facilitate, or is conducive or incidental to, the exercise of the functions of the Office. (2)That includes — entering into contracts and other agreements (whether legally binding or not);”

4.2. Paragraph 4.8 of MOPAC’s Scheme of Delegation and Consent requires the approval of the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime to approve the receipt of the grant.

5. GDPR and Data Privacy

5.1. MOPAC will adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018 and ensure that any organisations who are commissioned to do work with or on behalf of MOPAC are fully compliant with the policy and understand their GDPR responsibilities.

5.2. MPS assure that a DPIA has been completed. 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.

6. Equality Comments

6.1. MOPAC is required to comply with the public sector equality duty set out in section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010. This requires MOPAC to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations by reference to people with protected characteristics. The protected characteristics are: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

6.2. MPS assure that this is an extension of existing MPS service to the wider law enforcement network and does not change any aspects relating to equality or diversity.

7. Background/supporting papers

• Appendix 1a MPS Report NPCC Project Dorothy

Signed decision document

PCD 974 Grant Funding Project Dorothy 2020_21

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