Police need policy shifts and collaboration to increase public trust in intelligence-led efforts

Examining the changes needed to improve data practices within policing, and how to garner better public support of police data analytics

In this concluding article on the public perception of policing data, Boyd Mulvey, CEO of Chorus Intelligence; Jennifer Housego, Head of Digital Change at Essex Police; and Giles Herdale, co-chair of the Independent Digital Ethics Panel for Policing, explore the changes that must be made in order to improve data practices within policing, and the change in communication needed to garner better public support of police data analytics.

Following our discussion on the roadblocks to intelligence-led policing, it's important to understand how data is actually being used, and why there has been a challenge communicating this to the public, before we can conclude on how best to do this moving forward.

Two of the police's most widely used data sources are ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) and telco data. Both of these data sets are vast, with the majority never looked at, but the collection of it must persist, as communication service providers are legally obliged to retain data. Data exists on every person with a phone or a car, which could be argued as disproportionate, but it is only accessed if the person is of interest to a criminal investigation. Those not of concern to the investigation are protected by the concepts of necessity, proportionality and collateral intrusion, which are at the heart of the Investigatory Powers Act.

However, with recent high-profile data breaches, it's understandable that some are uncomfortable with the idea of the police accessing personal and sensitive data. But this could so easily be overcome if we could improve the communication and transparency around how law enforcement uses data to keep us all safe.

What exactly is needed from both police forces, and third-party policing organisations, in order to communicate the positives of intelligence-led policing more effectively?

The need for a data advocate

The question firstly falls to ‘Who'? Whose responsibility is it to set out the regulation on how data is being used within the police and how the positive benefits of this are communicated to the public? With the government slow to set out any type of framework or communications campaign around intelligence-led policing, an advocate is clearly needed.

As Giles Herdale, co-chair of the Independent Digital Ethics Panel for Policing, points out, it's a void that outside bodies have found challenging to fill:

"There's a lack of practical support at the centre. The policing national bodies that are supposed to coordinate and support policing are themselves fragmented, so third-party expertise hasn't had the opportunity to play a leading role in this space. There's an increasingly clear gap in capability across the system to provide that independent review and advocacy.

"That doesn't mean it's impossible, it could be done, but it would require a concerted policy shift to make this happen."

This doesn't mean that third party organisations aren't trying to tackle this issue in some form. For example, the Police Foundation recently released a report on data-driven policing and public value, which Herdale believes is a step in the right direction. "It sets out some of the opportunities and challenges," he says. "It's not comprehensive by any means, but as a call to action it's a useful starting point. The canvas is broad but it highlights the opportunity in the space."

Building a framework for ethical practice

Some police forces have decided to set this framework out internally, which might well be the only way in the current political climate. Herdale continues, "As the Government has retreated on setting any kind of directional policy framework for policing, it's very much up to local forces to determine how they go about doing that."

Jennifer Housego, Head of Digital Change at Essex Police, says this is something her county is working on:

"We have developed an ethical framework to help us ensure we are considering the ethical implications of data-driven projects. The framework is based on the DCMS and ONS frameworks and is further supported by the ALGOCARE guidance framework, which can be used to help police forces consider some of the legal, practical and ethical issues relating to the use of algorithms in the assessment of harm.

"The Essex Police ethical framework is one of the ways we are trying to ensure that ethics is at the heart of our thinking when we look to use data to keep people safe. In addition, we are now working on the terms of reference for a data ethics committee to assist us in applying the data framework and to provide some external check and challenge to our thinking."

Police need policy shifts and collaboration to increase public trust in intelligence-led efforts

Examining the changes needed to improve data practices within policing, and how to garner better public support of police data analytics

Housego believes that collaboration is the key driver for public awareness. For example, Essex Police has also been working with Essex County Council and the University of Essex to create an Essex Centre for Data Analytics, using data to help prevent a variety of different harms across policing and council led issues.

"The data ethics committee we are hoping to recruit later this year will help us ensure we take the views of different groups into account. The group will comprise both subject matter experts and lay members drawn from the local community, and will provide different perspectives to really get into the weeds of any issues.

"Bias is always a concern; a recent example saw another ethics panel, of which I am a member, raise an alarm over a predictive policing tool, concerned it would lead to bias against reoffenders. The fact that this ethics panel was able to raise issues and ask the force to take another look at their plans before coming back to the group is evidence of policing's commitment to doing the right thing."

It is frameworks and ethics committees such as these that will be valuable in growing public trust in intelligence-led policing, something Housego says is a priority. "One of the key aspects of our work with Essex County Council and the University of Essex is to ensure we have sufficient engagement with the people of Essex to make sure that the public are aware of what it is we're trying to achieve with data. It's really important we ensure we have public understanding and support, and we're as transparent as we can possibly be."

How do we drive public engagement?

Like Essex, forces that are taking it upon themselves to build frameworks and consider the ethical impact of intelligence-led policing will certainly help build public trust, but two questions remain: how can it be better communicated to citizens, and how can the police drive public backing to reduce the internal fear of sharing data?

A communications shift needs to happen and there is an acute need for more public examples of how data is utilised to increase insight, and therefore public safety. Herdale believes the police have excelled at this in certain areas, and that it can be recreated more widely.

"If you look at counter terrorism, there's been a concerted protocol and operational effort to create a joined-up capability led by Neil Basu, the UK anti-terrorism chief, who is able to speak openly. That carries a lot of weight when it comes to public trust," she explains.

Housego feels that a public awareness campaign along the lines of the one executed for the GDPR roll out could help build better understanding. "Some commercial companies were really on the ball, reaching out to consumers to ensure they were aware that the law was changing. From a public perception point of view, that probably would have increased consumer confidence around the legislation being there to protect their data, and the organisation involved. Perhaps police forces need to take a similar proactive approach."

One thing is for sure: there is a critical need for a greater shift towards data-led policing for all levels of criminal investigation. But we need to ensure this is handled as responsibly as possible and that we do not garner the same mistrust from the public, as companies like Cambridge Analytica and Facebook have. Huge rises in violent crime call for a more agile data-led approach, but it's only with public backing that police forces will feel able to pursue this.