Outgoing Metropolitan Police Chief Scientific Officer Calls for Data-Driven Early Intervention to Support Police Well-Being and High Standards
Cambridge (29 October 2024): UK police forces could substantially boost police wellbeing, reduce misconduct and improve public confidence in policing through predictive analytics and prioritized interventions, according to outgoing Chief Scientific Officer of the Metropolitan Police and Cambridge University Criminology Professor Emeritus, Lawrence W Sherman.
Speaking as the Chief Executive of the newly launched Benchmark Cambridge, a UK-based global provider of evidence-based police force management systems, Sherman calls for a national network of early intervention systems to provide better support where it is needed most for officer well-being and to ensure high standards of conduct.
The company’s team of 12 data scientists could use up to 100 data points routinely collected on the 150,000 police officers in England and Wales to predict and prevent adverse events, just as they have done with 200,000 officers in the US.. This analysis would then be used to prioritise individual interventions to boost officer wellbeing, elevate officer performance, promote police recruitment and retention, and improve trust and confidence.
Benchmark Cambridge’s parent company, Benchmark Analytics, was founded in the US in 2017 and has already deployed its services with over 2,200 police and prison agencies in the US.
Its research shows that only 5% of police officers produce most of the verified cases of misconduct in any year, and that statistical forecasting can accurately identify 85% of those officers before a serious event occurs.
Lawrence W Sherman, CEO of Benchmark Cambridge, and Cambridge University Criminology Professor Emeritus, says: “Data science has a crucial role to play in raising standards and improving the wellbeing of police officers across the UK. By pulling together siloed sources of information on officer background and behaviour into a single database in each agency, we can spot early warning signs and help put plans in place to prevent misconduct or mental health problems before they happen.”
Sir Denis O’Connor QPM CBE, former HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, says: “An early warning system of the need to support officers and prevent misconduct would represent a major step forward in England and Wales. It could improve officer wellbeing and raise public confidence and trust in our policing”.
Michael Harrison, former Police Commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department and former President of the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) says: “In my most recent role as Commissioner for the Baltimore Police Department, we found that Benchmark’s approach – providing a truly predictive system that is based on university-validated research – could help bring us into compliance with its consent decree and restore community trust. We also engaged the Department of Justice, and they agreed. I know firsthand that Benchmark’s novel approach to early intervention can play a pivotal role in helping agencies identify at-risk, problematic behaviour.”
The Benchmark management system deploys a three-stage process. First, it assembles scattered data about officers from across different systems into a single platform, including vetting, complaints, assignment history, sick days, arrests made, training, road traffic accidents and more.
Second, it then uses predictive models and algorithms to analyse patterns of behaviour to identify the top 5% of officers most at risk, providing updated analyses on a frequent basis.
Finally, Benchmark helps police agencies use this information to take action, carrying out early interventions that match the risk factors of each officer identified. These programmes span coaching, additional training, counselling and more, with ongoing evaluations to refine the best fit between risk patterns and interventions.
About Benchmark Cambridge
Benchmark Cambridge is a new UK-based global subsidiary of Benchmark Analytics, a Chicago-based leader in police force management support, partly owned by the University of Chicago and other charities, which upgrades police standards.
Benchmark Analytics demonstrates the power of data science in advancing workforce management. Its seven-year history has a proven track record in developing cutting-edge, data-driven decision guidance that is grounded in decades of research and fuelled by high-level analytics.
In collaboration with its research partners, Benchmark has developed an all-in-one solution to advance police force management, a groundbreaking early intervention system and proactive officer support platform.
For more information visit https://www.benchmarkcambridge.com and www.benchmarkanalytics.com.
Press contact
benchmarkcambridge@hawthornadvisors.com
020 3745 4960