29th July 2025
Master data management in UK policing Part Five: Partnerships
By An-Chan Phung, MDM Product Innovation Officer, Civica
The call that connected
Officers Jones and Sharma have arrived at a rundown apartment complex following a 999-call reporting a disturbance. The caller had mentioned screaming from a neighbouring unit. When PC Sharma knocks on the door, a young boy answers.
He couldn’t have been older than nine, his face streaked with tears. PC Jones kneels to his level. “Hi there. Is everything alright?”
Before he could respond, a woman stumbles into view—a dishevelled figure who looks unsteady on her feet. “What do you want?” she slurs, clutching the doorframe for balance.
PC Sharma guides the boy aside gently as PC Jones engages the woman, trying to determine her condition. Their concern grows as they piece together the signs: possible neglect; substance abuse; and an environment far from safe for a child.
After ensuring immediate safety measures are in place, they return to the station and initiate a referral to social services. But instead of stopping there, PC Sharma remembers a program that allows police to share relevant data with local schools and social services to form a clearer picture of vulnerable children’s situations.
It takes several weeks but the boy’s school records are retrieved. Attendance has been spotty at best, and teachers have noted recent behavioural changes. The additional information paints a fuller story, giving social services the tools they need to act swiftly. Within days, they have arranged temporary foster care for the boy and coordinated support for the mother.
Weeks pass before PC Sharma and PC Jones are surprised to find a message waiting for them at the station—a drawing from the boy, depicting two smiling police officers. Alongside it is a note from his social worker:
“He’s thriving in his new foster home. And his mom has started rehab. Thank you for helping us to connect the dots.”
As PC Sharma holds the drawing, she couldn’t help but smile. It was proof that sharing information wasn’t just bureaucracy—it was hope. Could this become the standard practice across all forces?
Effective collaboration
This story is a testament to the dedication of police officers in ensuring that positive outcomes are achieved and the vulnerable are protected. The sharing of information and collaboration between all the services is foundational to achieving these outcomes, but not all of these stories have a happy ending. There are numerous instances where the systematic failure to share information and reticence for collaboration has resulted in tragic outcomes. Even with the appropriate agreements and processes in place, the timeliness of data sharing and effectiveness of collaboration are essential.
Imagine if this could happen in real-time or even use this model to enable pro-active collaboration – why wait for the 999-call?
Removing barriers for turning information into intelligence
In this series we are exploring how Master Data Management is changing the game when it comes joining up critical pieces of information to form far more robust, easily accessible and interoperable intelligence that can transform a number of use cases in policing. We have so far illustrated how having a joined-up approach to data enhances crime prevention, reduces officer risk and improves public safety.
To conclude the series, let’s explore the opportunity for policing when the challenges preventing data sharing of complete and accurate insights between forces and partner agencies are overcome.
The need for multi-agency collaboration
Many criminal activities are complex – they could be taking place across county lines or national borders, which would require collaboration with partner law enforcement agencies or other forces.
Take the case of Sarah Everard in 2021, who was abducted near Clapham Common in south London and taken to Kent where she was raped and brutally murdered by off-duty police officer, Wayne Couzens. The Metropolitan Police needed to work closely with the Kent Police. A further important aspect was that Couzens had worked for both of these forces, as well as the Civil Nuclear Constabulary. An inquiry concluded that all three police forces had failed to spot the red flags about his unsuitability for office.
There are also the occasions when police forces need to collaborate with other agencies. Social services, for example, when vulnerable people are involved. Take the case of Victoria Climbié, an eight-year-old girl who was murdered in London in 2000 following a long period of abuse and torture at the hands of the great-aunt and her boyfriend. An inquiry found that the police, the social services departments of four different authorities, the NHS, NSPCC and local churches had all noted signs of abuse but had failed to act. Could this have been different if the full picture was more visible to them?
The information needed to not only resolve such cases but, more importantly, to better enable early intervention can often sit in multiple different organisations. As these examples demonstrate in the most tragic way, however, for the most part it isn’t joined up, shared or accessible when needed.
Is modern policing ready to transform its data management practices?
Few would argue that the secure access and timely availability to relevant, digestible data from other forces and partner agencies is highly desirable. However, before this can become a possibility, it is critical that police forces have their own data in order, just as they would want partner data to be before they consumed it.
Unfortunately, inconsistent data is typically present across an array of disparate systems that police officers / data analysts need to consult daily. This creates problems of duplication and makes it extremely difficult to establish a single source of the truth – a golden nominal. Building an accurate picture around People, Object, Location and Event (POLE) requires manual cross-checks whenever trying to corroborate information into useful intelligence. This could include checking ANPR, criminal records, missing persons, firearms and many other intelligence sources. One person of interest could be logged several times in different records and under different aliases. Two people with the same name or initials could be living at the same address. Relationships between records may not be automatically connected, so could therefore be missed. Errors may have been made when inputting the data the first time around. From an operational point of view, this all drains time and significantly slows down policing efforts.
If a police force is unable to make its own data work, then it simply isn’t set up to reap the benefits of joined up services with its partners.
Digital policing
Setting up for success begins with cleansing and standardising data records, which is where Master Data Management comes in.
It offers a way to consolidate vast numbers of records into a single source of truth. For example, removing person duplicates and merging them into a single record, or enriching address details to ensure that the correct address and access information is available. Improved police records will come into play when supporting 999 call handling. Reliable insights to persons and property can be briefed in so that officers attending calls have advanced intelligence on ‘who’s behind the door’ when attending addresses.
It also makes the work of the police data analyst much easier, as they will be able to build reliable intelligence that can be collected and shared much faster. It will enable connections between circumstances and information to be established much quicker so that appropriate responses can be actioned in a proactive way.
By first creating a data system that works effectively a strategic asset for the police force, the door to better interoperability with partner organisations will begin to open. To reach this goal, effective access and management of data is now at the heart of a lot of forward-thinking digital policing strategies; now it’s time to get data management into position for success.
For more information on how to get started with Master Data Management, arrange a discussion today.
Read more from our MDM for policing series
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