Data and Innovation in Public Sector
Transforming Policing: turning analytics into a game-changer at Sussex Police
Like police forces all over the world, Sussex Police stores vast quantities of information: as well as details of several million calls received each year, 0.5 million incidents and around 130,000 crimes, it holds extensive records of investigations and criminal justice outcomes, all on separate systems. Yet despite these volumes, the Force could derive little value from its information beyond counting and tracking activities in a linear way, chiefly through monthly reporting by its Performance Analysts.
Unprecedented depth and breadth of insight
Recognising the potential of this vast repository, the Force’s goal was to put this evidence base into the hands of its officers. Sussex’ challenge, however, was that specialist data science and analytics expertise would be needed to turn information into actionable insights. What’s more, this was the first time Sussex Police had attempted to aggregate information from its different systems. Could diverse datasets about calls, investigations and incidents be joined up? And if so, would the results be of value, not just to analysts, but to frontline officers? That’s when the Force asked Atos Consulting to help: in September 2018, a consulting team was engaged with the remit of proving whether this vision was achievable and, if so, to upskill Sussex Police to realise it.
With Atos Consulting’s help, what started as a small project to prove a concept quickly became a highly successful and expanding analytics function, giving Sussex Police unprecedented depth and breadth of insight. Now the Force has a suite of dashboards with a macro view of what’s happening in Sussex, trends over previous years, as well as detailed micro views to inform everyday policing.
Safeguarding people and fighting crime
Officers can now make new connections, spot patterns and test hypotheses to focus resources and target interventions, both strategically and in near-real time. From safeguarding children and new ways of identifying risk of domestic abuse, to pinpointing the most dangerous offenders and accelerating criminal justice processes, the Force is using analytics to improve its operational effectiveness and efficiency.
Throughout, Sussex Police and Atos sustained a strong and close partnership, with Atos as trusted advisor. The Consulting team has supported Sussex Police at every stage, working closely with officers to enable and accelerate fresh ways of thinking and working. This initiative has, quite simply, changed the way Sussex Police works, both internally and with its partners. It enables the Force to equip its officers with the best-possible information to safeguard communities, protect vulnerable people, improve processes and fight crime.
View the Atos profile in the MCA Members Directory.