The extension of the "shared services partnership" will deliver "additional savings in excess of £9 million", said Cleveland Police Authority.

As the extension was signed, Steria officially opened a new Shared Services Centre in Stockton, Teesside, which will house the police force's finance, HR, procurement, fleet, and facilities functions.

A number of additional support services will be delivered alongside those undertaken by Steria at the start of the ten-year contract in October 2010.

Effective from 1st July 2011, Steria's remit will now include centralising crime management units in each of the four force districts and merging with the control room, as well as developing a newly combined risk and operational planning unit that will handle emergency and event planning, together with risk assessment and safety.

These additional services will enable officers to devote more time to operational policing, through "significantly reduced paperwork", said Cleveland Police Authority. It has not been revealed how much the extra work will cost the Authority.