Gwent to expand use of police intelligence tool

The software is mainly used by the force to measure staff performance, but it is now planning to use the system to keep tabs on crime rates across the county. Gwent's Qlikview developer, Paul Evans, told GGC that the tool, which pulls in data from multiple data sources and then displays relevant information to staff, will link with a geographical information system. The information that is held in Qlikview in table format will then be plotted onto a map. "That's one of the things we are currently looking at, and we think it could bring a massive benefit to the force. It's basically a business intelligence tool that gives you intelligence over a map," said Evans. Gwent has also started linking up with systems at the Home Office using the software. It currently channels all the data from its human resources system and puts it into a format that that can be read by a data hub within the Home Office. Evans believes that the system has saved the force a considerable amount of time since its implementation by Sungard Vivista in 2007, as some of the information was previously entered manually. He would not reveal the exact cost savings that have been made, but suggested they were substantial. "I couldn't tell you what that is right at the moment because it would be a finger in the air, but it could be quite an amount," he said. The force is undertaking a cost savings exercise so it can clearly see the benefits that introducing the software has brought. Evans said that one major benefit is being able to bring together information from a number of different databases within the organisation, which has made processes easier. Sergeants and inspectors use it to look at staff performance within a team so they can gauge who is performing well. Details such as how many people an officer has arrested, the quality of those arrests and the outcome can all be viewed through the software. The information is looked at in a read only format, so it cannot be altered. Evans explains that although it doesn't always provide "straight answers", it gives superiors at Gwent the opportunity to "ask questions". The other benefit is being able to look at figures for crime rates and anti-social incidents in political wards and see whether they're increasing or decreasing, he added. If other forces were to implement a similar system, Evans advises that they should consider employing a team of Qlikview developers. He manages the development aspect single handedly and admits that it can be quite challenging at times. "It's a big job, but I'm not grumbling," he said. Looking to the future, Evans wants to use the system to look at data quality at the force, particularly to check whether information has been inputted correctly into databases or if there are any mistakes. "Some of it could be a user element or some of it could be a data error," he added.