THE POLICE DATA CHALLENGE Copyright Policing Insight/Cognyte 2023 There’s no doubt that while the exponential growth in the digital landscape and advances in new technology have been the main drivers for the significant data challenge now facing policing, they are also seen as key to policing overcoming that challenge. And although many of those who spoke to Policing Insight are well aware of the risks and potential difficulties in addressing the issue, the main sentiment expressed by practitioners, stakeholders and experts was one of optimism – coupled with varying degrees of caution. For Dylan Alldridge, Head of Innovation at the Office of the Police Chief Scientific Adviser, that optimism should be matched by ambition, particularly around the use of automation and artificial intelligence (AI); but success will depend on getting the groundwork done in the short term. “We should be thinking ambitiously in the future around how we harness machine learning and natural language processing in particular across national systems, but it should be a medium- to long-term ambition,” said Dylan. “From an AI perspective we have to make sure that the next two to three years are about building the right foundations The police data challenge: Where next? Having explored the challenges and opportunities faced by policing in collating and analysing the huge growth in data sources – including the potential for technology to offer solutions, the skillsets required and the ethical concerns – what does law enforcement need to do to tackle these issues? In the last in the series of five features, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter spoke to police practitioners, stakeholders and specialists about the way forward. The ‘Police Data Challenge’ is an independent series researched and written by Policing Insight and commissioned by Cognyte. Policing Insight is the leading platform to keep up with the latest in progressive policing. It is where the global police and criminal justice community both consume and share knowledge, opinion and analysis. Cognyte is a market leader in investigative analytics soſtware that empowers a variety of government and other organizations with Actionable Intelligence for a Safer World™. Find out more at www.cognyte.com/nexyte. Keith Potter is the editor of Policing Insight