Come December, NSW Police will formally kick off the modernisation project of its mainframe, after operating with the same core system for the last 24 years.
The project will see NSW Police, together with Unisys and Mark43, replace the force's central database, which is used for everyday operations, including logging criminal incidents to intelligence gathering, and pressing charges, which will have a new integrated policing operation system (IPOS).
"After more than 20 years of trying to do something with the mainframe, I'm hoping we'll finally crack it with IPOS, a born-in-the-cloud policing platform that will do the things that police need and deserve, in terms of a mobile-first digital platform," NSW Police chief information and technology officer Gordon Dunsford told ZDNet.
Expected to take five years to complete, the IPOS project will be carried out in three phases.
The first phase -- anticipated to take 18 months to finish -- will see the delivery of new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which would house everything from triple zero calls to crime reporting, as well as forensic management that will enable police to process DNA samples in real-time, instead of having to send them off to a lab.
Other modules that will be revamped as part of IPOS include investigation management, evidence and forensic data management, charge and custody management, and case management.
"It's a marathon with lots of little sprints," Dunsford said.
He added that one of the other key components in delivering the IPOS project would see NSW Police integrate with other law enforcement agencies and their systems, which will be possible through the organisation's partnership with Mulesoft.
"For us going into IPOS sets us up for our future … we're integrating in real-time with a lot of federal systems, a lot of other jurisdictions, right through