British Police Are Innovating With Data Analytics

The innovation landscape across British police forces is rapidly evolving. There are a huge range of digital transformation programmes underway, all geared towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of police operations. As reported in Policing Insight, one key focus across these programmes is the use of data analytics.

The Office of the Police Chief Scientific Advisor (OPCSA) defines data analytics as “the ability to synthesise information to draw insights that can lead to actionable decisions, often in combination with other information and at scale.”

This definition is similar to commercial approaches. However, enabling ‘actionable decisions’ takes on unique importance within the context of policing, where effective data exploitation can directly lead to crime prevention and enhanced public safety.

As we see so often in news coverage, these decisions can mean life or death in some circumstances and so are quite rightly open to high levels of scrutiny. With that in mind, it is vital that decision makers have access to the best information in a timely manner, in order to take action.

Capitalising On Data

Over recent years, data analytics has become increasingly critical to police operations across the UK and abroad. This is supported in the UK National Policing Digital Strategy 2020-2030, which highlights the need to ensure that digital adoption is expanding the availability of data.

It’s not surprising to see a significant focus on analytics compared to other service lines across the innovation landscape in policing.

This demonstrates the positive intent in policing to be more data led, and fits more broadly with two further national strategies that seek to ensure that Policing in England and Wales will be enabled through the use of better science and technology:

  • Strategic Objective 4 in the NPCC Strategic Plan 2021-2025, which empowers policing to “collaborate with partners to deliver transformative innovation and new technologies that improve all aspects of policing”.
  • The Policing Vision 2025 focuses more on how the service will aim to “make better use of digital intelligence and evidence and transfer all material in a digital format to the criminal justice system”.

However the focus on analytics also points to the challenges that forces face in terms of the scale and complexity of their data. Forces collect significant amounts of data, but to utilise it effectively requires innovative solutions by which to store, handle, manage and analyse it.

Compressed budgets and funding can often restrict the amount and level of innovation taking place and can therefore make this data analytics, insights and exploitation more difficult. However, important funding streams, such as the STAR Fund from the OPCSA, are providing greater means and routes for forces to explore and test these new analytical innovations.

Practical Applications

When looking at digital innovation case studies within UK police, it’s clear that analytics has applications across many different themes and areas. It enables the reduction of crime, saves force and officer time, empowers better and more strategic decision making, provides means for better preventative measures to be implemented, and facilitates improved force response.

One clear common thread throughout is the ability to deliver timely, actionable insights from analytical capabilities. As a result, there is a realisation of better policing outcomes.

Forces make better strategic decisions and more focused interventions when there is a comprehensive understanding of their data, ultimately providing more effective and positive impacts. For example, one police force developed a tool that provides intelligence insights and assessments of potential domestic abuse threats. These insights provide the basis for interventions and management plans for domestic abuse perpetrators, and have seen some perpetrators reduce their offences by 100% in six months.

Similarly, another force implemented an online insights tool that pulled data from core policing systems into various intuitive dashboards accessible to Officers to exploit as required. A victim contact dashboard within the tool led to a reduction in missed victim contact from 18% to just 5%, providing better results for the public and for victims specifically, a huge focus for forces across England and Wales.

This is only made possible with efficient data management. Whether we’re talking about victim contact, domestic abuse, knife crime, or any other aspect of policing, data can’t be adequately exploited if it isn’t first managed in the right way.

This highlights the need to connect citizen interactions and operational information across departments and forces, ensuring that the right information is in the right place to be accessed and leveraged by those who need it.

A Case Study In Analytics

Essex Police was successful in an application for funding to improve its ability to deal with violence against women and girls, with a specific focus on domestic abuse.

After carrying out a two-year review of its approach to identifying dangerous perpetrators following the tragic death of Ashley Wadsworth in 2022, Essex Police partnered with Essex University to develop a methodology that would identify high-risk abuse perpetrators and enable early intervention to help protect potential future victims.

Codenamed Operation Puffin, the force developed an entirely new approach that provided better data insights into potentially dangerous offenders.

But, despite best efforts, it hit a barrier in terms of the finite capacity of its staff to undertake this complex, multi- layered assessment. It could take two people up to a week to review all the available information for one lead, or perpetrator, before action could be taken.

This is where Intelligence Lead Assessment Services ( ILAS) develop[ed by BAe Systems has allowed the force to take the next step. ILAS is a branch of AI that uses inference and reasoning to replicate and operationalise expert human skills. By taking the Operation Puffin methodology, BAe worked with Essex Police to identify the precursor indicators and behaviours that would identify threat and risk in the domestic abuse domain.

The system then automated the work of analysts, applying confidence scoring and risk modelling in the same way that a person would. This resulted in a prioritised threat list that not only showed the people and relationships of most concern, but also those that had the potential to get worse.

What would have taken two people up to a week can now be achieved at the click of a button, allowing expert practitioners to spend more time taking action and less time on manual research.

Detective Superintendent Matt Cornish, Domestic Violence Lead for Essex Police, commented The big thing for me is the system being able to use inference and reasoning to take the cohort to the next level.  We were struggling because of the complexity of weightings, which was a huge barrier preventing us from moving forward. We knew what we wanted to do, but lacked the necessary IT system/experience to make it achievable... The system allows us to consider any additional risk, or potential mitigations within their current relationship, which hasn’t been achieved before.

This is the truly preventative step: highlighting perpetrators with risk indicators (to allow for intervention and victim safeguarding) before they commit the serious offences.

“The real benefit being the ability to assess risk at machine speed to allow for early targeted intervention, and ultimately prevent serious harm. This to me demonstrates the power that can be achieved in police and tech collaborations.” Cornish said

Turning Inference Into Action

BAe has been focusing on how to help police forces make better use of their data, which led to the creation of ILAS, designed to law enforcement analysts make sense of vast quantities of data to determine what’s happening in the real world. The tool, by inferring links between different data sets and points, gives police forces the information required to protect those who need it most.

ILAS is currently deployed in an increasing number of police forces, and has been configured for domains as diverse as knife crime, child exploitation, firearms and countering the criminal use of drones. Plans for 2024 include the development of a specific tool  to deal with and serious sexual offences, violent offenders and organised criminality.

BAe Systems     |  Police Digital Service     |     Policing Insight     |     NPCC     |       NPCC

You Might Also Read: 

British Police, AI & The Fight Against Cyber Crime:

DIRECTORY OF SUPPLIERS - Data Analytics:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 6,500-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.

  • Individual £5 per month or £50 per year. Sign Up
  • Multi-User, Corporate & Library Accounts Available on Request

Cyber Security Intelligence: Captured Organised & Accessible


 

« HackerOne Leads AI-Driven Innovation
Canada’s New Online Safety Law »

Infosecurity Europe
CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

Resecurity

Resecurity

Resecurity is a cybersecurity company that delivers a unified platform for endpoint protection, risk management, and cyber threat intelligence.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of automatic cloud backup and critical data protection against ransomware, insider attacks and hackers for businesses and organisations worldwide.

MIRACL

MIRACL

MIRACL provides the world’s only single step Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) which can replace passwords on 100% of mobiles, desktops or even Smart TVs.

ZenGRC

ZenGRC

ZenGRC (formerly Reciprocity) is a leader in the GRC SaaS landscape, offering robust and intuitive products designed to make compliance straightforward and efficient.

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Directory of Cyber Security Suppliers

Our Supplier Directory lists 8,000+ specialist cyber security service providers in 128 countries worldwide. IS YOUR ORGANISATION LISTED?

Varonis

Varonis

Varonis provide a security software platform to let organizations track, visualize, analyze and protect their unstructured data.

Cyber Akademie (CAk)

Cyber Akademie (CAk)

Cyber Akademie is a training and education center providing high-quality training and information events on information security and data protection.

LRQA

LRQA

LRQA is an award-winning global provider of cybersecurity services, bringing innovative thought leadership to the ever-evolving cybersecurity marketplace.

Shift Technology

Shift Technology

Shift Technology provides insurance companies with an innovative SaaS solution to improve and scale fraud detection.

Fedco International

Fedco International

Fedco International is an IT and SCADA ICS Security consultancy firm.

Pentagon Group

Pentagon Group

Pentagon Group is a provider of security services in high-risk environments, remote areas and emerging markets in support of land-based, aviation, maritime and cyber operations.

Cyber Science

Cyber Science

Cyber Science is the flagship conference of C-MRiC, focusing on pioneering research and innovation in Cyber Situational Awareness, Social Media, Cyber Security and Cyber Incident Response.

ERI

ERI

ERI is the largest fully integrated IT and electronics asset disposition provider and cybersecurity-focused hardware destruction company in the United States.

PQShield

PQShield

PQShield are specialists in Post-Quantum Cryptography. We provide quantum-secure cryptographic solutions for software, software/hardware co-design and data in transit.

National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) - Vietnam

National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) - Vietnam

National Cyber Security Center of Vietnam has a central monitoring function and is a technical focal point for monitoring and supporting information security for people, businesses and systems.

Intaso

Intaso

Intaso are a boutique head hunting and talent solution firm with specialist Cyber and Information Security expertise.

Flare Systems

Flare Systems

Flare proactively detects and remediates exposure across the clear & dark web, providing organizations with the equivalent of an automated cyber reconnaissance team.

AT&T Cybersecurity

AT&T Cybersecurity

AT&T Cybersecurity’s Edge-to-Edge technologies provide threat intelligence, collaborative defense, security without the seams, and solutions that fit your business.

Security Compliance Associates (SCA)

Security Compliance Associates (SCA)

The sole focus of SCA is safeguarding critical information and complying with information security regulations.

CyRiSo

CyRiSo

CyRiSo is a cyber security consulting company with a focus on 'as-a-service' services for the most pressing challenges of cyber security.

ThreatMon

ThreatMon

Gain insights into emerging threats with real-time data and AI-driven analysis to stay ahead of cyber risks. Detect, analyze, and respond to threats before they happen.