THE POLICE DATA CHALLENGE Copyright Policing Insight/Cognyte 2023 Human value Regardless of the best way to address the skills gap, there’s little doubt among police leaders and technology experts about the value of the human resource in meeting the data challenge. One example where that value has been realised is in the work of the UK’s Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) programme, led by Detective Chief Supt Kate Thacker. Originally prompted by conversations between Det Ch Supt Thacker and then Norfolk Chief Constable Simon Bailey, who was the NPCC Violence and Public Protection lead, TOEX was set up to provide specialist intelligence and analytical expertise in support of forces investigating crimes involving complex organised exploitation, including county lines, modern slavery, human traﬀicking, and child sexual exploitation. The benefits of that analysis and intelligence expertise, and being able to access resources and data sources at a national and international scale, has seen the original pilot grow from TOEX staﬀ in three regional organised crime units (ROCUs) two years ago, to around 150 staﬀ embedded in every single ROCU today, identifying more than 30 organised crime groups and priority individuals, and making more than 300 safeguarding referrals. A significant part of that success is down to the skills and expertise of the staﬀ, and for Det Ch Supt Thacker, the ‘home grown’ approach to nurturing that talent was crucial: “When it came to the development of professionals and training, we found things a bit wanting in terms of how we would want to train and develop and support our staﬀ, so we made our own. I would boldly say we trod a new path.”