THE POLICE DATA CHALLENGE Copyright Policing Insight/Cognyte 2023 police misusing our data, targeting young black men, further criminalising certain sections of the public, etc, when what you’re trying to do is actually a very pure thing.” The impact of legislation While there maybe issues around data ownership and risk aversion when it comes to data sharing – which is crucial if the in-force analyst highlighted by Dylan Alldridge is really to have that “single view” of all the information pulled in from a 150 different places – it’s not only advances in technology and changes in attitude that will play a part; legislation may also be key. Thames Valley Supt Lewis Prescott-Mayling is well aware of some of the statutory duties on police forces and other agencies around data sharing, having played a lead role in establishing the Thames Valley Together platform as part of his work with the force’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU). The platform aims to overcome many of the barriers to sharing information across organisational boundaries by allowing local authorities, police, HM Prisons & Probation and wider partners to share information securely, with appropriate controls. The system helps partners to develop plans to address violence and its causes; it has been recognised as national best practice, and the Home Office is supporting its wider roll- out to other VRUs nationally. While the focus is more around safeguarding and prevention than crime investigation, Supt Prescott-Mayling – who is now the force’s Strategic Lead for tackling serious violence, and the Research and Innovation Lead for Policing Chief Scientific Adviser Prof Paul Taylor – believes the new duties as well as pressure from inspectorates could help to bring about real change. “Fundamentally we should be sharing and bringing this data together across the partnership anyway – we’re required Thames Valley Supt Lewis Prescott- Mayling