MPS's plan for greater evidence-based policing

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.029800

I note you seek access to the following information:

An overview of the current significant work that forms part of the Met’s plan for greater evidence-based policing. This has been set out in part, on the MPS website below.

MPS Website - Commissioner outlines the Met’s plans for evidence-based policing (12 October 2022)

Decision

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

As noted in the article referenced in this Freedom of Information Act request, and in the MPS Turnaround Plan (see https://www.met.police.uk/notices/met/the-turnaround-plan-more-trust-less-crime-and-high-standards/), the Commissioner wants the MPS to be “relentlessly data driven and evidence-based in delivery”. The Turnaround Plan details a range of specific interventions that are planned to deliver the following outcomes:

1. More precise understanding of what works to tackle, solve and prevent crime in our communities

2. Improved performance of staff and officers, driven by the collection and analysis of data

3. More relevant insight

4. Greater ability to identify corruption and misconduct in the Met, building trust in our work

The MPS has a large range of programmes of work and internal teams focused on the delivery of these objectives. This includes the work of the MPS’s first Chief Scientific Officer – Professor Larry Sherman – who was appointed to provide expert advice on the application of evidence-based policing. Professor Sherman has published two articles based on analysis conducted using MPS data. I have provided links to both articles below:

Comparing Probability of Police Officer Dismissals in London between Misconduct Hearings Chaired by Chief Officers and Legally Qualified Chairs

The Fall and Rise of Racial Inequality in London Homicides: A Challenge for Policing by Consent

Several internal MPS teams support the delivery of the four objectives above:

Firstly – the MPS Strategic Insight Unit’s (SIU) Research Faculty is responsible for building and maintain the MPS’s links with academic research and learning.

• The Research Faculty develops research relationships with universities, academics, and researchers, and fosters evidence-based practice across the MPS with partners such as the Society of Evidence Based Policing (SEBP). They are the single point of contact to manage external research requests for the MPS, and to advise on internal research and evaluation requests. This includes research propositions from students, from research academics, from research organisations, from research and learning consortium hosted by universities and from partner agencies. They work with a large number of external bodies on a regular basis, and support hundreds of individual projects at one time.

• The Research Faculty also partners with a number of university groups to drive research and evidential analysis, including but not confined to, UCL Jill Dando Institute Centre for Global City Policing, The Open University Centre for Policing Research and Learning, LSE Centre for Economic Performance, Cambridge Faculty of Criminology and Canterbury Christ Church Centre for Policing Research. We actively encourage research and academic interaction and debate, and enable vetting and access for a significant number of researchers, academics and critical thinkers to promote evidence based practice in our operational environments.

• Research Faculty also support the MPS’s Academic Bursary Scheme which supports a large number of officers and staff through postgraduate and undergraduate study, bringing increased evidence based critical thinking and capabilities into the MPS.

Secondly – the wider Strategic Insight Unit includes a multi-disciplinary analytical team tasked with delivering empirical insights in support of evidence-based policing. The team includes criminologists, data scientists, social researchers, and police officers. They take on a range of different types of projects, including delivering analysis to understand patterns within police data and trials to evaluate the impact of policing activities and initiatives. The SIU’s work programmes are aligned with strategic priorities for the MPS. Current work programmes include:

• Projects to improve the targeting and/or implementation of police activity, for example via the identification of individuals or places that account for disproportionate amounts of offences or crime harm, to support better resource allocations.

• Randomised-controlled trials to evaluate the impact of policing presence and precision patrols on violence.

Thirdly, the MPS Data Office has fully implemented the use of Risk Terrain Modelling into MPS standard practice in 2022. All Basic Command Units and several central specialist teams were allocated licenses and selected analysts are undergoing ongoing training for the method. In addition the Digital, Data and Technology Data Science team are leading on innovative uses of the method and are regularly assisting frontline policing with RTM analysis and advice.

• RTM identifies environmental features that connect with crime patterns. This diagnosis highlights area of heightened risk and helps us prioritise resource deployments to prevent crime and reduce risks.

• The method identifies crime correlators in the local environment that create favourable conditions for crime to thrive. By knowing the underlying correlators for crime types of concern and establish their statistical significance, we are able to develop intervention strategies and problem solving plans that go beyond conventional intervention methods. The technique enables frontline officers to specifically address the individual problem landscapes of micro locations and reduce hotspots by concentrating on the underlying drivers. RTM is proven to reduce crime, enhance public safety and improve community relations.