Northgate-is - News Item 761

Northgate launches powerful new system for the emergency services

A new system designed to support the emergency services in responding quickly to incidents and making the most of intelligence was launched today by Northgate Information Solutions, a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets.

Northgate has delivered major enhancements to its corporate gazetteer to provide police forces, ambulance trusts and fire and rescue services with a state of the art system for managing location-based intelligence information.

The ability to combine the best features of the address datasets available under the Mapping Service Agreement (MSA) with information from non-MSA sources and ‘non-addressable’ locations, such as car parks or children’s playgrounds, provides a single dataset more suited to the demanding needs of the emergency services. Access to comprehensive and reliable location information right across an organisation speeds up decision making and improves overall data quality, helping to protect the public.

The inclusion of ‘people information’ alongside comprehensive location information also enables organisations to establish a ‘single version of the truth’ through linking and matching key data. Holding the data in a single repository enhances intelligence-led services, for example allowing the relationship between the address of a known offender and the location of ‘at risk’ individuals to be explored and analysed.

Powerful new search facilities will enable fast analysis of information, for example identifying all people with the same name within a given area. Previously, this information would have to be found and analysed manually.

For all emergency services, the enhancements will support faster response times through ensuring that control room staff can direct resources to locations quickly and accurately.

The new corporate gazetteer also:
- supports enhanced multi-agency working, such as enabling the sharing of police beat boundary information;
- enables key location information to be provided over the web and to mobile devices;
- is fully compatible with the National Land & Property Gazetteer (NLPG);
- ensures more accurate data, through enabling updates to location information to be made in one system only;
- integrates with critical systems such as command and control or crime and intelligence.

Northgate’s corporate gazetteer is recognised by the Home Office as the national standard for police forces.

Ian Blackhurst, Managing Director of Criminal Justice & Public Safety at Northgate Information Solutions, added:
“The emergency services are under increasing pressure to speed up response times and deliver more efficient and effective services to the public. The sheer volume of data they hold can often hamper rather than support their operations. Providing police forces, fire and rescue services and ambulance trusts with a single powerful source of location information will mean more accurate data, improved analysis and a faster response. We look forward to working with organisations across the country to help them realise the benefits and deliver safer communities.”

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For more information:
Fellows’ Associates:
Kathy Sutton            020 7849 3403; 07966 890401; ksutton@fellowsassociates.com
Naomi Stevenson    020 7849 3508; 07966 890403; nstevenson@fellowsassociates.com 

Note to editors:

1. Northgate Information Solutions is a leading provider of innovative services to the public sector and utilities markets. Northgate’s task is to enhance public value through the intelligent use of people and technology, and to share in the economic and social benefits that this brings.

2. In the UK, the company works with four out of five local authorities and every police force. Northgate supports public service transformation through sustainable performance partnerships. Its technology is used in the administration of more than £12 billion of revenues and benefits; in electoral administration systems covering 18 million people; to support the national system for reporting police performance; and in the management of over three million local authority and housing association properties worldwide. Founded in 1969, the company has over 6,500 employees.