THE POLICE DATA CHALLENGE Copyright Policing Insight/Cognyte 2023 He also recognised that while engaging local people in these processes was essential, so too was the need for expertise to be able to assess the operation of fast-moving and rapidly developing technology. A national approach Sir David also argues that there needs to be more of a national approach to data ethics, because of both the shortage of available expertise across 43 forces, and the potential for inconsistency and dilution of approach. “The danger is that lots of forces develop [ethics committees], but if you have 43 of these you’re never going to get the standard of people on them to hold you to account with the sufficient technical knowledge about how these systems work in practice technically. “Policing has got to find a way of having some of these things mobilised nationally; otherwise, you could create lots of these committees, but you’ll degrade the quality of people on them.” The work undertaken in the West Midlands has not gone unnoticed. Paul Williamson is the Joint Programme Leader for Policing at the University of the West of England; he was also previously a Regional Head of Investigations for the National Crime Agency, a National SIO Adviser, and a specialist in using big data, AI, machine learning, and financial investigation tools to target money laundering, and the confiscation of criminal assets. In his current role he oſten points to the West Midlands Data Ethics Committee as an example of some “really, really good practice”, and like Sir David advocates the benefits of a national approach: “At the moment there’s lots of good work going on around this, but it could be more consistently applied across policing,” he said, stressing that the focus on ethics – alongside ensuring that police data collection, analysis and retention was lawful and maintained evidential integrity – was a key element in the legitimacy of policing. That focus has been reinforced in the UK in various reviews and strategies, most notably the NPCC Digital, Data and Technology Strategy 2020-2030, which highlights the need for a National Data Ethics Governance Model as an essential part of the aim to “unlock value from data while maintaining public trust”. The Strategy also recommends closer working with “independent, non-policing bodies, such as the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI)”. The CDEI has already published its own review into bias in algorithmic decision-making which makes a series of recommendations. These include, among other things, the need for new national guidance and a data ethics “Policing has got to find a way of having some of these things mobilised nationally; otherwise, you could create lots of these committees, but you’ll degrade the quality of people on them.” Sir David Thompson former West Midlands Chief Constable Former West Midlands Chief Constable Sir David Thompson