Making Data Work Across Boundaries: The Next Challenge for Policing
Elastic, Friday, October 16th, 2026
Elastic examines the data challenges behind the UK's proposed national policing reforms.
Elastic discusses the UK Home Office white paper on a new policing model, which proposes fewer, larger regional forces, a National Police Service and a National Data Integration and Exploitation Service.
The paper notes that more than 90 percent of crime has a digital element while data is fragmented across 43 forces, and the Police National Computer is due to be replaced by the Law Enforcement Data Service in 2026/2027.
Elastic argues making data work across force boundaries is central to the reforms.