B.C. RCMP's separate computer system costs $9M extra per year

CBC NEWS:

The RCMP's use of two non-compatible computer systems to house data about criminal cases — one system in B.C. and another that serves the rest of Canada — is costing taxpayers millions of dollars extra every year, CBC News has learned. Internal documents obtained by the CBC under an Access to Information request reveal that the extra costs of running two computer systems is "conservatively estimated" at more than $9 million a year. Development and rollout of the two systems cost the RCMP at least $105 million — about $41 million for the B.C. system dubbed PRIME and $64 million for the national system called PROS.

Several officers had repeatedly warned senior management that the decision would cost a fortune and create major hurdles for sharing information across the RCMP, but the top brass decided to allow the separate B.C. system. The "loss of functionality" caused by the two systems "will not be defensible in any public accountability forum," Supt. Chuck Walker, head of RCMP operations systems, wrote in a Sept. 25, 2007, email obtained as part of the access request. "This is particularly true when one understands that there is absolutely no operational advantage to be gained by having the federal units remain on PRIME," he added. The two systems aren't integrated and must be accessed through a portal, making the RCMP the only major police service in Canada, possibly the world, to use two separate record management systems, the documents say. Records management systems allow officers to share information on cases by uploading photos, witness statements and other information that can then be accessed by Mounties across the system.

'You're duplicating everything'

In early 2003, the B.C. government ordered the RCMP, which is contracted to serve as the provincial police force, to get on board the PRIME system as part of a province-wide information sharing system among police forces. Then-RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli agreed, even though the RCMP was in the process of purchasing its own system. By August 2004, the RCMP had deemed PRIME unsuitable for its purposes and began rolling out a national system dubbed PROS, made by Winnipeg's Niche Technology. By late 2005, PROS was being used by the RCMP outside B.C. at about 650 detachments, plus Interpol Ottawa and all National Security Investigation offices. Before that, the RCMP had operated under a national system called PIRS but needed to replace the outdated technology. Retired chief superintendent Gavin Berube said he was one of the first officers to raise a red flag about duplication in 1998, when he was an inspector working on finding a new system for the RCMP. “The ideal system would be to reduce the number of systems to do policing, not to duplicate or create more systems than we need to," Berube told CBC News in Gatineau, Que. "The more systems you have, you're duplicating everything, increasing the risk for the money requirement. So, you have the situation you have now." But when he raised the issue at work, Berube says he became a persona non grata and was sent home for an extended period of paid leave.

Only an administrative burden: RCMP
Among the documents obtained by CBC, a critical report written by Walker and sent to the federal Auditor General, says there are "major gaps" in PRIME that would be "impractical or extremely costly" to fix. The PRIME system, made by Ottawa-based Versaterm, is capable of operating in French. But the documents indicate the system used by Mounties in B.C. is operating solely in English, which may raise the question whether the federal police force is violating the Official Languages Act. RCMP assistant commissioner Francois Bidal defended the use of dual systems, saying while it may cause an "additional administrative burden" it doesn't affect the safety of officers or the public."I think it's a challenge. I don't think it's a problem," he told CBC News. Bidal said that using the two record management systems is no different than checking the dozens of other systems by local and provincial police forces that the Mounties have access to. "I'm telling you that the hurdle is no different there than it is accessing that information from any other policing agency," said Bidal. He wouldn't comment on the costs of the two systems, saying he wasn't sure what the pricetag was.