New research from the Police Foundation shows that the police are
failing to recognise the public’s concerns about how their
personal data is used in the fight against
crime.
The Police Foundation looked at national and local digital data
policing projects. It found that while the police service is
using new technology in ways that benefit public safety, the
service has been too slow to consider the risks of ‘technology
creep’.
With research from the Royal Society of Arts showing only
2%[1] of
the public is in favour of machines being used to make decisions
in the criminal justice system, the Police Foundation today makes
three recommendations for police leaders:
- Police forces should
consult their residents and expert ethics commissions to consider
the risks before new technologies are rolled out.
- New regulations should
be introduced to control the use of computer algorithm tools to
avoid bias creeping into machine-based decisions.
- The College of
Policing and HMICFRS should lead and monitor police compliance
around any new regulations.
The Police Foundation’s report includes 23 case studies showing
how the police are using new technologies to prevent and
investigate crime and improve public confidence. For example Avon
and Somerset Constabulary is using software that brings together
data into apps to keep frontline officers informed about suspects
or victims when working in particular neighbourhoods.
In an example outside the UK, the Dutch police are using a
digital platform to engage 1.6 million members of the public in
intelligence sharing, which is helping them to directly
investigate crimes and arrest suspects.
However, the police service has been too slow in recognising the
risks of using these technologies. While existing privacy laws
require the police to obtain legal authorisation to enter a
person’s home, accessing sensitive digital data is not governed
in the same way. Additionally, algorithms used to guide police
decision making risk over policing certain communities if biased
data is used.
The report’s author Dr Ian Kearns said ‘One of the most striking
features of the debate on data-driven policing in the UK is the
absence of any formal mechanisms for including the public’s
voice. This is a critical gap which, if not filled, could
undermine public confidence in this way of working’.
The Police Foundation’s Director Dr Rick Muir said ‘In a digital
age we need the police relationship with the public to be far
more dynamic, and to find proactive ways for citizens to help the
police. A tech-enabled sense of shared responsibility for
combating crime would be a step in the right direction’.
1. Balaram B., Greenham T. and Leonard J. (2018) Artificial
Intelligence: Real Public Engagement, London: Royal Society of
Arts.
For more information or to receive a copy of the full report,
contact Rick Muir on 07875 546155
Notes for editors:
The Police Foundation’s report Data-driven policing and
public value, was funded by Accenture, BT and the Institute
for Policy Research at the University of Bath.
The report looks at how the police can meet the challenges of
reduced budgets and changing crime through the use of data-driven
technologies. The report also focuses on how data-driven policing
can contribute to public value.
Data-driven policing can be described as the gathering, analysis
and use of data from a wide variety of digitised sources, for
example CCTV, social media, mobile phones and internet-enabled
technology, to inform police decision making, improve policing
processes and increase useful intelligence.
The report considers how using data-driven policing can
contribute to nine dimensions of public value:
- Reduce crime
- Improve crime
detection
- Reduce public fear
- Reduce public
vulnerability
- Ensure civility in
public spaces
- The fair and just use
of police authority and force
- Improve the public ‘s
trust and confidence in the criminal justice system
- Deliver a quality
service to citizens
- Use public funds
efficiently
The research studied examples of data-driven policing in the UK
(Avon and Somerset Constabulary, West Midlands Police,
Metropolitan Police, Durham Constabulary, Staffordshire Police
and Hampshire Constabulary) through a literature reviews and
background conversations with local police forces and senior
officers.
The research also looked at how the police are using this
technology outside the UK (for example in the Netherlands, North
and South America).
Balaram
B., Greenham T. and Leonard J. (2018) Artificial Intelligence:
Real Public Engagement, London: Royal Society of Arts.
