Artificial intelligence (AI) software which can identify vulnerable children months before they might be at risk is now in use by Lincolnshire Police.
This cutting-edge approach to child safeguarding is thanks to new ethically designed technology to identify Lincolnshire’s most vulnerable children – and the county’s police force claims it means they will be better protected.
In testing, the software, called CESIUM, used live data to identify 16 vulnerable children who needed intervention from specialist services up to six months before the existing process, which is reliant on people examining and assessing information. Further analysis proactively identified three vulnerable children for pre-screening risk assessment who had previously been concealed in the data.
The software will mean staff have more time to dedicate to other priority areas of work because less is spent on administration; the app allows a reduction from five people researching, gathering and analysing data over five days, to one person analysing all near-real-time data within 20 minutes.
Following the positive results, CESIUM, which has been developed for Lincolnshire Police in partnership with Trilateral Research, has now been adopted and will be used to help officers and staff in their decision-making around child safeguarding. In response to calls that some children might get missed, the force insists it will not replace human thought and analysis, rather it helps support and inform decision-making, improving the day-to-day workload of police officers across the force.
Detective Chief Superintendent Jon McAdam, who has worked with program developer Trilateral on CESIUM, said: “Using the technological advancements of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, we have been able to work together to take what began as an idea to the actual delivery of a cutting-edge safeguarding platform.
“The development of CESIUM has only been possible through the commitment and determination of all those involved, and I am proud to be able to have finally seen this not only be successfully developed, but to bring this into the operating environment within Lincolnshire Police.
“This type of technical solution will never replace people. Instead, it helps speed up and strengthen our processes and gives our staff more information on which to base their decisions. We are now able to be more proactive in protecting vulnerable children from harm and ensuring professionals are informed of risk concerns. This has been a significant journey, where we have been able to bring the experience of people who work together in safeguarding with the technical expertise of data scientists, data ethics, and GDPR specialists, along with the wider team within Trilateral Research.”
“The development of CESIUM has only been possible through the commitment and determination of all those involved, and I am proud to be able to have finally seen this not only be successfully developed, but to bring this into the operating environment within Lincolnshire Police.
“This type of technical solution will never replace people. Instead, it helps speed up and strengthen our processes and gives our staff more information on which to base their decisions. We are now able to be more proactive in protecting vulnerable children from harm and ensuring professionals are informed of risk concerns. This has been a significant journey, where we have been able to bring the experience of people who work together in safeguarding with the technical expertise of data scientists, data ethics, and GDPR specialists, along with the wider team within Trilateral Research.”
Source: Child safeguarding transformed for police with ‘game-changing’ Artificial Intelligence (msn.com)
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