Technology Transformation
The Met asked EY to deliver the most ambitious technology transformation programme in global policing. The solution – a programme called CONNECT – replaced eight core operational systems with a single integrated solution and transformed ways of working for 40,000+ officers and staff.
Against a backdrop of extensive public and political scrutiny, the Metropolitan Police Service (the Met) is on a mission to deliver a ‘New Met for London’ with ‘more trust, less crime, high standards’.
Technology is supporting this mission. In 2019, the Met embarked on one of the most ambitious technology transformation programmes in global policing, replacing eight core operational systems with a single integrated solution. It was to be no ordinary technology programme and careful deployment was imperative – a reduction in operational services was out of the question given that the Met still had to conduct its everyday policing duties. To quote one senior Officer, the challenge of delivering CONNECT was “akin to stripping a car whilst keeping it travelling in a straight line at 60 mph down the motorway”.
The project impacted every aspect of operational policing, transforming ways of working for 40,000+ officers and staff. EY was the Met’s Delivery Partner from design through to implementation, with teams embedded ‘in the trenches’ for five years.
‘Off the shelf’ methods would not cut it: change had to be rooted in the requirements of operational delivery and adapted to the realities on the ground. Training, for example, was an unprecedented challenge for the Met – delivery of training of this magnitude had never previously been attempted. We created a cohesive technical delivery framework to ensure successful integration and data management, delivering 21 integrations, establishing a dedicated ‘design pillar’ for data extraction to enhance governance and decision-making, and – crucially – maintaining operational continuity across corporate reporting channels.
We embedded specialist EY staff within blended design teams, and united a diverse team comprising EY professionals, 10 other suppliers and over 100 dedicated officers and staff to ensure a shared ownership of risk and problem-solving. Hand in glove with Met colleagues, we fostered deep relationships across over 60 highly complex business areas, developing an extensive knowledge of the Met’s operational processes, impacts of changes and associated risks.
The successful delivery of this programme – CONNECT – has delivered a unified dataset, creating links between offenders and a network of data points to improve analysis, intelligence and policing outcomes. Removing the reliance on standalone records across ageing siloed systems, it is playing a pivotal role in the Met becoming a data-driven organisation and the delivery of its wider technology roadmap.
From mapping 200 operational process in support of system design, to deployment with an impact on 40,000+ personnel and 60+ command units, the EY team worked closely with the Met to ensure the successful delivery of the largest transformation programme in its history. The work is considered an exemplar of cross-service line delivery and a flagship credential for EY.
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