Victoria Police extend life of LEAP database

Victorian Police have implemented upgrades to its ageing LEAP (Law Enforcement Assistance Program) crime database that will extend its shelf life for a further seven years.

LEAP’s Electronic Direct Reporting (LEDR) application has been upgraded to finally allow frontline police to digitally enter crime and event reports directly, Victoria Police said in their annual report.

The government has also allocated funding for projects including delivering handheld devices to frontline police, which will allow direct reports from the field.

Upgrades to the system have extended its expected useful life from 1–5 years — as projected in 2015 — to 1–12 years as of 2016.

“Further ongoing work will include independent assessment of the systems to ensure their ongoing sustainability,” the report states.

Victoria Police attempted to replace the ageing LEAP technology in 2006, but abandoned the project five years and $45 million later after it became clear the costs would be far higher than expected.

This has left Victoria police unable to input information from their own desktop machines.

The Victoria Police balance sheet shows that software expenditure for the LEAP LEDR application had a carrying value of $3.1 million for the financial year.

Image courtesy of Logan Campbell under CC