Essex, Cambridge, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Hertfordshire police, together with the Ministry of Defence, select data quality specialist to deliver a ‘single person’ view of all police records

London, 12th July 2010: In one of the first initiatives of its kind in England, the Ministry of Defence has worked with six constabularies to bring together all police records into one reliable, accurate and easy to use database.  Using data quality specialist, Infoshare, Essex, Cambridge, Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Hertfordshire police can create a ‘single best person’ view of all records to help improve public safety, detect crime and bring more people to justice.

Up until now, each constabulary had multiple disparate data systems housing information on known criminals, crime recordings, intelligence, domestic violence and child protection.  These data silos could not ‘talk’ to each other or be cross-referenced and often contained an unknown quantity of duplicate or inaccurate information.

Using Infoshare’s ClearCore Enterprise Data Quality Suite, the police forces can bring together all existing data, regardless of systems, format, language or source.  The data is then automatically cleansed, analysed, compared and enriched to create evidence-driven matches rather than using probability comparison.  This improves the levels of accuracy and enables the police to see all related information and to use this data to reduce crime including terrorism. 

“We began to look into a unified database as part of the outcome from the Bichard Enquiry which, together with MoPI, aimed to assess and improve the effectiveness of the police intelligence-based record keeping,” explained Chief Inspector Andy Gratrix, Chief Information Officer, Cambridge Constabulary, who led the initiative.  “By combining the forces of six constabularies, we could not only deliver economies of scale but we could create a highly accurate and effective system that would ultimately help us better protect the public”.

“Infoshare’s solution was head and shoulders above the other companies we considered,” added Gratrix.  “Its ability to link and match disparate information, as well as its plentiful police experience, made it the perfect choice because for us this isn’t about introducing another IT system. It is about ensuring we have the best quality information to keep people safe and detect crime.

“Police departments up and down the country battle with multiple legacy systems that don’t interoperate with each other, preventing a single view of all logged information and intelligence.  The Police Forces of the Eastern Region now recognises this and with this initiative is pioneering a joined-up approach that will bring together existing data that will be used as vital evidence to help prevent crimes and terrorism.”

“For the first time, Police forces from the Eastern Region have worked collaboratively with the proven contracts branch of the MOD, DE&S ISS, via Akhter Computers Plc, who have been contracted with the MOD since the late 1980s. Through Akhter Computers Plc’s Enabling Agreement, Infoshare was selected as the chosen sub-contractor, which gives the police the security and knowledge that the terms and conditions that apply to all MOD contractors are looking after their best interests,” explained John Oakley, Group Sales & Project Director.

“Infoshare’s ClearCore Enterprise Data Quality Suite was one of the few solutions that could meet the stringent requirements laid out in the specification agreed by the six regional forces,” added Oakley, Akhter Computers Plc, lead systems integrator in the project.  “Most notable was its ability to accurately cleanse and link data creating matching rules criteria that could help the constabularies achieve MoPI compliance.”