A “GROUNDBREAKING” deal between Hampshire Police and telecoms giant BT could save millions of pounds of public money.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Hayes, pictured, has signed the £37.4million deal alongside chiefs from two other forces in the south east.

The agreement between BT and Hampshire, Thames Valley and Surrey police will allow for greater collaboration and transform the forces’ current telecoms technology.

As part of the deal BT will set up a new public services network (PSN) for the three forces which will allow them to share information and increase efficiency.

The forces say the greater collaboration allowed through the Government-backed PSN will reduce public expenditure by up to 20 per cent.

Technology will be standardised throughout the three forces, while further efficiencies and improvements will also be developed on an on-going basis.

Mr Hayes, who was elected last November, said: “This deal saves the public money from day one.

“It sends out a message that there is a will within the three forces to find new ways of working and, in doing so, to achieve the improvements that the public want to see and set us up for further innovation and collaboration.”

BT’s vice president of central Government, Stuart Hill, said: “This contract is simply ground-breaking. This is the first PSN police network purchased by neighbouring police forces.

“BT’s secure and trusted network will enable better and quicker collaboration between police forces and drive standardisation of technologies to enable further business transformation.

“By working together, we are enabling connected policing across the three forces. This not only brings the power of scale and the associated cost savings but also changes to the way people work and share information.

“As we work more innovatively we’ll see more and more benefits for the forces and most importantly, the citizens.”