Police scrutiny panels overseeing the use of stop and search and use of force powers often review police data, which can often be confusing and not fit for purpose. The police division which is overseen by one of the few independent scrutiny panels in the country – the Joint Protective Services (JPS) scrutiny panel managed by Att10tive – has solved this long-standing historical and national problem by providing the panel with an interactive data dashboard that can for the first time answer the panels concerns.
The JPS scrutiny panel, which oversees armed policing, roads policing, and the specialist dogs unit across Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, and Hertfordshire, has welcomed this new data reporting tool designed to improve transparency and accountability in policing.
Community scrutiny and transparency
The facilitator of the JPS panel is Montell Neufville, one of the country’s best known police ethics advisors, says: ‘We have been asking for data transparency for more than two years and we know things in policing take a long time. The credit for this goes to the new police boss who has taken over command of the police division we oversee who superintendent Kash Hussain.’
The JPS known as country’s most innovative scrutiny panels which has done a lot to build trust and confidence between communities and the police. Managed by Att10tive Social Enterprise, the panel brings together a wide range of community members from diverse backgrounds who are then trained to review police practices, focusing particularly on use of force.
A major concern for scrutiny panels has been the disproportionate use of force against members of the public, especially those from Black and Asian communities, with police leaders often unable to account for this disparity.
The newly introduced interrogatable dashboard directly addresses these concerns by presenting clear, accessible data on who is using force, under what circumstances, and against whom. This transparency will allow senior leaders and the community panel to investigate what particular police units and even officers are doing.
Panel response
Montell Neufville, chair of the JPS scrutiny panel and one of the UK’s most experienced police ethics advisors, praised the implementation of this new dashboard: ‘I am pleased with the work police leaders and staff have done to make the information accessible. This has been something we have been requesting for a long time. All of my panel welcome this innovation.’
One panel member Tony McFarlane added: ‘I am impressed with the data sheets presented. Very concise and easy to use, giving so much information on one sheet.’
Superintendent Kash Hussain, the force lead, said: ‘Our aim is to ensure we take active steps to increase trust and confidence within our communities on our use of force powers. The nature of policing means on occasions, only when proportionate, legal, accountable, necessary and ethical our officers have to use force to keep people safe. By investing in the transparency of our reporting to the community and taking their feedback and learning, we will increase that confidence, not only for the public but also for our officers.’
Impact on policing and communities
The JPS scrutiny panel meets online every three months to scrutinise police use of force across the three counties, ensuring that armed policing, road policing, and dog units operate with fairness and accountability. By introducing this new toolkit, police leaders have taken a significant step toward restoring public trust in Cambridgeshire and enabling community representatives to hold policing to the highest standards of transparency. The panel’s work has already been recognised as a model of best practice nationally.
The introduction of this new data toolkit marks a milestone in the panel’s mission: ensuring that policing across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire is not only effective but also equitable, transparent, and accountable to the communities it serves. For further information or to get involved visit Att10tive.com or email info@att10tive.com.
From Montell Neufville, police ethics advisor, Att10tive.com