---
title: "Homeland Security Group ACE Impact Lab Service - RASSO"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-033aee"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-033aee"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-033aee.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-033aee.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "POLICE DIGITAL SERVICE"
published: "2022-05-18"
---

# Homeland Security Group ACE Impact Lab Service - RASSO

Buyer: POLICE DIGITAL SERVICE  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-033aee

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[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-033aee.json)

## Summary

The Police Digital Service is undertaking a procurement process titled "Homeland Security Group ACE Impact Lab Service - RASSO" aimed at acquiring services related to research and development for Rape and Serious Sexual Offence investigations, specifically supporting Proof of Concept and Proof of Solution discovery. The procurement is currently at the award stage, with an active contract valued at £600,000 that was signed on 18 May 2022. This process follows a limited procurement method, specifically negotiated without the publication of a contract notice. The location for service delivery is the UK, and the industry category is defined under CPV classification as research and development services and related consultancy services.

This tender presents a unique opportunity for businesses engaged in specialised research, development, and consultancy services, particularly those with expertise in law enforcement technologies and processes. Companies that are well-suited to compete for this contract will likely possess capabilities to collaborate within complex stakeholder environments, including academia, public safety, and governmental bodies. The urgency of the services required suggests a favourable environment for businesses that can quickly respond to operational challenges in the area of crime fighting technologies and innovative solutions for serious offences.

## Notice

Procurement of a Homeland Security Group (Home Office) ACE Impact Lab service to support Proof of Concept (POC) and Proof of Solution (POS) discovery for Rape and Serious Sexual Offence (RASSO) investigations.

### Lot Information

Lot 1

PDS relies on the ground set out within Reg 32(2)(b)(ii) (Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. For technical reasons, access to law enforcement personnel, technology, processes & operational information can be provided only to a particular tenderer, namely The Secretary of State for the Home Department acting through HSG. ACE is a government funded unit within HSG in the Home Office. It holds the requisite HMG authority, security clearance & engagement access to criminal justice system operational partners & industry/ academic communities to help address the policing technology gaps on highly sensitive Rape & Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) cases identified in the HMG End-to-End Rape Review Report (June 21). Competition is absent for technical reasons because: (a) addressing the current RASSO investigation process challenge requires a partner with end-2-end influence & capability to engage across a large, dynamic & complex public, private, not-for-profit & academic sector stakeholder landscape. As a government body, ACE is uniquely placed to collaborate with law enforcement agencies (including Police, CPS, NCA, HMCTS & the judiciary), alongside industry & academia, to identify solutions to frontline problems; and (b) the Home Office, as the main RASSO investigation process grant provider, has determined that the proposed commissioning engagement should be delivered in-house by their own business unit i.e. ACE (and their retained supply chain partners), rather than an external service provider; and (c) there is an urgent need for these services, and so whilst a fully compliant CPN procurement is being run by ACE (refer to FTS: 2022/S 000-005352) an interim solution for a six month period needs to be implemented by PDS as soon as possible. Because of challenges with police vetting timescales this means there are very limited options available, meaning competition is absent for technical reasons. Additional information: The absence of competition is not the result of an artificial narrowing down of parameters of the procurement; no reasonable alternative exists for procuring the required service, as other options would cause significant time and/or cost overrun, thus impacting public funds negatively and slowing the deployment of crime fighting tools to law enforcement.

### Procurement Information

PDS relies on the ground set out within Regulation 32(2)(b)(ii) (Use of the negotiated procedure without prior publication) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. For technical reasons, access to law enforcement personnel, technology and processes and operational information can be provided only to a particular tenderer, namely The Secretary of State for the Home Department acting through the Homeland Security Group (HSG).

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013392-2022 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Limited |
| Procurement method details | Negotiated without publication of a contract notice |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 18 May 2022 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 17 May 2022 |
| Contract period | Not specified |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £600,000 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | POLICE DIGITAL SERVICE |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Post town | Central London |
| Postcode | EC4R 1AP |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | City of London |
| Electoral ward | Vintry |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT ACTING THROUGH THE HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 72000000 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support
- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 18 May 2022 at 16:11 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/013392-2022

## Notice URLs

- https://pds.police.uk/
- https://uk.eu-supply.com/ctm/Company/CompanyInformation/Index/94392

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-033aee. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-033aee.json.