UK probation IT system is a complete failure

THE GOVERNMENT'S system for tracking criminals through the prison and probation system had "not even a minimum level of competence in [its] planning and execution," according to MPs.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee's verdict on the C-NOMIS system was delivered after £41 million was wasted on delays and cost overruns. There are thought to be millions of pounds more unaccounted for in the project.

Even these MPs, used to ineptitude and ‘blind optimism' in government IT projects, were startled when they investigated.

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Edware Leigh told The Guardian, "This committee has become inured to the dismal procession of government IT failures which have passed before us, but even we were surprised by the extent of the failure of C-NOMIS."

The National Offender Management Service, in charge of prisons and probations, could not even explain what £161 million spent before October 2007 was for when asked by the committee.

The project was started in 2004 and was reckoned to cost £234 million. Two years later, when the final whistle was blown its costs exceeded £700 million.

Now C-NOMIS is no longer used, offenders will be tracked on three separate databases, which won't be up and running until 2011. Which leads us to ask, how will they be tracked in the system?

Conveniently for C-NOMIS, no one can be held accountable because the officials who took the key decisions and were responsible for its monitoring and oversight have all retired or moved on. µ