A police force has deployed an analytics platform to visualise its command centre operations data. The aim; better insight into the availability, objectives, and location of police officers against public demand. Ultimately, says the US firm Qlik, its visual analytics platform will give Avon and Somerset Constabulary a better grip on case knowledge.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary has about 6,000 people, including 2800 officers. The force covers the city of Bristol, as well as more rural areas. The force has deployed Qlik Sense to visualise data – initially through 12 apps created in a few days – and used across the force, from command centre staff through to chief officers; and contain information on officer availability, suspect management and officer objectives – to name a few. The visuals are displayed on screens across its command centre, giving staff details of the live jobs coming in. They are used as the focal point for police officer briefing sessions.
With information mapped for analysis, police more effectively can dispatch officers to the right area to meet public demand or, using previous staffing data to pre-emptively allocate officers to certain areas. In fact, as the supervisor’s app updates the crime elements every 20 minutes, a team sergeant can task an action, then check and test that this has been completed within the shift – as opposed to waiting for a daily refresh. Qlik Sense has already been aiding the force’s remit on identifying and dealing with its top 30 highest risk offenders. This has led to a number of offenses being dealt with in a more time-efficient manner. For example, in a week, some 25 of the ‘most wanted’ suspects (from the area Top Ten lists) were arrested and a further three interviewed through voluntary attendance.
Qlik Sense apps used daily or on a regular basis. Status information includes a crime management reporting app which visualises workload, resourcing and police officer performance; an allocation management app showing how many times offences occur and where; an offender management app – using predictive modelling and profiling of an offender with level of risk, cohort and crime pattern; and a road safety app using predictive modelling to counter accidents before they happen rather than after.
Sean Price, Head of Performance at Avon and Somerset Constabulary said: “In a position of increasing demand and reduction of resources, Qlik is transforming our insight for improving productivity, efficiency and effectiveness. It helps us democratise and make transparent intelligent insight that can be actioned from board level to the front-line officer. It is currently being used in our control room, offender management teams and by our front-line officers. We have done so much in such a short space of time; yet we feel we have only scratched the surface with it’s potential.”
And Neil Frost, a Detective Sergeant from the force said: “Using Qlik has helped us amalgamate all our existing systems and drive major efficiencies. We have 24/7 access to visual data analytics which helps inform high risk scenarios and situations. For example, when a name comes up in relation to a suspect, informant or victim, we enter the detail and get a snapshot of the situation and can identify the risk to share that information with police officers attending a crime scene or incident. It helps us spot vulnerabilities, suspect warnings and any other vital information that officers on the street need to do their job effectively and safely. In addition, Qlik is helping to save time, shaving off at least two minutes per call that comes in so we can focus on getting to the action that is required.”
Simon Blunn, UK MD, Qlik said: “The way Avon and Somerset Constabulary has visualised its data to see how it can not only reduce, but prevent against, crime is setting the standard for other police forces nationwide. Of all industries, it’s perhaps most important in the police that they can spot trends and make sure officers are in the right place at the right time to pre-empt certain events from happening. After all, it could mean saving someone’s life. We’re really pleased to see Qlik playing such a pivotal role in that crime detection – and insights from our applications used to enforce a change that will ultimately improve public safety.”
Picture by Mark Rowe; street art, south Bristol.
