The South African Police Service (SAPS) wants to automate the handling of all evidence in a bid to improve quality control and cut back on the theft of exhibits that are needed in criminal trials.
Companies have until 23 May to submit tenders to the State IT Agency (SITA), for the SAPS Property Control and Exhibit Management (PCEM).
One of the main motivators for the project, according to the call to tenders, is the fact that "many criminal cases have been lost in court due to the manner in which exhibits have been dealt with, ranging from being contaminated, to the switching of evidence".
The PCEM forms part of the greater Integrated Justice System, which aims to establish a transversal "crime to punishment" IT solution for the Department of Justice, National Prosecuting Authority, SAPS, Correctional Services, and the Department of Social Development. It is to be funded by the different government agencies involved, as applicable to them.
The PCEM business objectives include applying a consistent user interface for both the police and courts that will use the system, applying open systems standards throughout, automating manual activities, as well as improving the integrity of the chain of evidence.
A total of 3 815 police locations and about 760 courts will utilise the system upon completion.
The system is to be piloted in Durban, at the beginning of 2009, with national roll-out scheduled to commence in April 2009. The project as a whole is to be fully implemented as of January 2011. Implementation will be done in parallel with old systems until the new PCEM can operate independently.
However, SITA's call for tenders emphasises that no outsourcing model will be accepted from any bidders and bidders would not manage the data. Also, part of the tender would be to provide for the encryption of information throughout the process, as that information could be valuable to criminal elements.
According to SITA spokesman Elton Fortuin, the value of the project cannot yet be pegged "as this will only be determined once a solution is accepted by the SAPS".
Related stories:
Police look to ICT
NPA to revamp criminal justice IT
Share