Police Scotland Funding Success
We are excited to announce some recent successes in our ongoing collaboration with Police Scotland. Three different projects have been approved for funding, marking a significant step forward in our working relationship. We are working closely to develop innovative solutions aimed at optimizing police resourcing through data-driven decision-making.
This partnership originated as part of the Quantum AIMday held at the University in March 2023, and has since gained further momentum following a Knowledge Exchange and Impact seminar between Police Scotland and our academic staff; a Digital Frontiers AIMday; and MSc dissertation project supervision. These events and activities have provided valuable insights into the challenges and needs of Police Scotland, allowing our academics to propose the following projects and successful apply for seed funding from multiple sources.
A Simulation and Optimization Framework for Resource Planning at Police Scotland
Led by Dr Alper Yildirim, Dr Andreas Grothey, Dr Akshay Gupte, and Dr Burak Buke, this project focuses on developing a data-driven resourcing system for Police Scotland and helping to improve their approach. By utilizing past incident data, the team aims to create an optimal data-driven resourcing system by interfacing a simulation model with an optimization model. Initially concentrating on rural areas and islands, the project lays the groundwork for future collaborations on broader challenges faced by the police. This project has been funded by the Impact Accelerator Account seed fund following the Quantum AIMday 2023.
Data-Driven Decision Making
Under the guidance of Prof Victor Elvira, this project aims to understand the most valuable data for frontline police officers and how this can be made available in an efficient way en route and at the scene of the incident. The focus is on ‘disturbance’ incidents, where limited information from the scene can be relayed. The project seeks to identify key metrics of success and optimize the delivery of crucial data related to criminality, intelligence, vulnerability, and operations. This project was funded by the Impact Accelerator Account seed fund following the Digital Frontiers AIMday 2023.
Synthetic Data
This project will be undertaken by PhD student Nicola Branchini, supervised by Prof Victor Elvira, and explores the potential of synthetic data in easing data-sharing processes with academia and running simulations impossible with current datasets. The long-term vision involves replicating main source systems, creating sophisticated digital twins through generative AI and NLP. Research Data Scotland has approved the funding for the project, and we will be collaborating with Police Scotland to deliver it.
