S&T in the NPCC's strategy
Science and Technology sits at the heart of the NPCC's strategy as Strategic Objective 4: Collaborate with partners to deliver transformative innovation and new technologies that improve all aspects of policing.
The NPCC ensures science, technology, analysis, and research underpin delivery in all areas of policing. Close working between the Chief Scientific Adviser, NPCC Coordination Committees such as the Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee (DDaTCC) who are responsible for better use of data, and national S&T leads, afford a vibrant and forward-leaning leadership that supports local delivery.
We know that to be effective, we need to be agile. We are working with partners to embrace the opportunities brought by digital transformation, science, and new technologies. We recognise that delivering for the future requires active sharing and collaboration with all who wish to contribute. Policing must unlock the value of data, science and technology while maintaining public trust in its ethical and proportionate use.
Strategic alignment around a national vision for police science and technology will transform the way we operate. We will deliver in line with policing missions, balancing investment to ensure coverage, resilience, and preparedness for the future. We will do so transparently, so that partners and the public can contribute to and shape how we progress.
Central to our Objective are plans to modernise core digital systems, putting the power of data and information in the hands of our staff. The National Policing Digital Strategy outlines these ambitions, which are overseen by the Digital, Data and Technology Coordination Committee (DDaTCC) and delivered by the Police Digital Service and key partners such as the National Data Exploitation Centre (NDEC).
The NPCC will put science and technology at the heart of its strategic thinking, to maximise the resilience, preparedness and agility of policing both now and in the future.
We aim to deepen our collaboration with our public sector partners to jointly design and tackle complex public safety issues – sharing data insights and making use of digital tools and data analytics, to disrupt and detect serious and organised crime to protect the public.
A key enabler of our technological transformation is people. Identifying and developing a community of science, data and technology specialists requires embedding continuous professional development in the recruitment, retention and upskilling of officers and staff. We will deliver this in lockstep with the College of Policing and grow our collaborations with education providers.
At the core of everything we do is a requirement to uphold the highest standards of ethics, transparency, and proportionately. We recognise doing so is vital for policing to unlock more value from its data, science and technology, while maintaining public trust. We will pursue this through independent oversight, public consultation, and adopting the principles of Open Government and Open Science. In this, as in all areas, we collaborate so that we can deliver what the public and our workforce need and expect.