ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre Deputy Director Professor Dan Birks (University of Leeds) outlined the opportunities of using administrative data to better inform policing.
12 February 2025
Speaking to policing analysts and researchers at the event, organised by the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP) and hosted at the College of Policing’s headquarters in Ryton, UK, Professor Birks talked about how administrative datasets could be used to improve evidence-based understanding of policing and vulnerability-related problems.
In his presentation, Professor Birks provided an overview of several data science initiatives at the Centre, which aim to harness routinely collected information to improve service delivery through scientific insights and innovative tools.
He highlighted the Centre’s Connected Data Analytics programme, which is dedicated to building capacity in data science for public good. The programme empowers early-career data scientists from diverse disciplines to apply their expertise to problems facing the public sector. The data scientists explore how integrating data from multiple organisations can give practitioners and policy makers new ways of thinking about how to support the most disadvantaged communities.
Professor Birks spoke about several Centre research projects that utilise routinely collected police, education, local authority and healthcare datasets to support evidence-based understanding of vulnerability and responses to it. These included:
- Geospatial and sociodemographic patterns of unauthorised school absence
- School absence and Not in Education, Employment or Training
- Estimating the Nature and Scale of Response Police Demand in Bradford
Additionally, he talked about a Centre research project that is evaluating the effectiveness of new AI tools in recognising and classifying incidents that potentially involve vulnerable people, such as people with mental health problems.
As well as Professor Birks’s presentation, the event also explored the importance of preventative policing within analysis and research. Attendees also discussed the recently announced National Centre for Public Protection that will centralise policing’s response to violence against women and girls (VAWG) and wider crimes associated with vulnerability.
“It was really interesting to hear about the latest initiatives led by the VKPP and College of Policing, as well as discussing approaches to vulnerability analysis and research from representatives across policing,” said Professor Dan Birks.
“Public services collect a rich and diverse range of information in their day-to-day business and there is incredible potential for this information to be utilised to help build a holistic understanding of how different services can act together more effectively and ultimately improve services for vulnerable people.
“This is a core part of the Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre’s work and it was fantastic to be able to spend time with this community and share more about the Centre’s research programme.”