- Published:
- Monday 6 February 2017
Police will have the information they need to catch criminals quicker thanks to a new intelligence system to be rolled out this year.
Minister for Police Lisa Neville today announced leading data analytics company SAS Institute Australia will develop an overarching software system to connect current police databases such as LEAP and Interpose.
The advanced analytical tool is part of the Andrews Labor Government’s $227 million investment in police technology.
It will help police close in on terrorists, perpetrators of family violence, organised criminals, networked youth gangs and other serious offenders.
From the middle of this year, Victoria Police’s 600-plus specialised crime analysts will be able to use the system to gather highly valuable intelligence in minutes instead of hours.
Next year, the system will expand to include more databases, and more police officers will be trained so they can also use the powerful search engine to catch local offenders.
The system is the first of its kind for Victoria Police and is part of the Andrews Labor Government’s work to give police the resources they need to keep the community safe.
Once the databases are connected, police will be able to quickly pull information to:
- gather information on crimes and offenders more quickly as complex intelligence that once took hours to create will now take just minutes
- link people, events, vehicles, properties and activities to produce highly sophisticated intelligence
- integrate open-source social media with police information
- better identify previously unknown criminal links, and trends and patterns in criminal activity
- better predict local crime trends and hotspots.
SAS Institute Australia, which has significant experience with other police worldwide, has already begun work to roll out the intelligence system.
The Labor Government is also delivering a record boost to frontline police resources with 3135 new police to be recruited over the next five years, on top of normal attrition recruitment.
This boost in frontline police is the lynchpin of the Community Safety Statement 2017 – a plan backed by $2 billion in investment that will keep Victorians safe, prevent harm in our communities and hold criminals to account.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Police Lisa Neville
“Police have vast amounts of information. This new system connects it, analyses it and puts it at their fingertips so they can fight all types of crime much more quickly.’’
“This will give Victoria the best law enforcement intelligence system in Australia. We are delivering more police, tough new laws, and the latest in crime fighting technology to keep the community safe.’’