FORENSIC Analytics, the award-winning tech-firm, is releasing version three of its CSAS software, a cellular analysis suite which has helped multiple UK police forces in the fight against organised crime and county drug lines*.
By analysing complex communications data, CSAS shortens the time in which officers can identify and stop organised crime groups – including county drug line gangs – with compelling evidence.
From November 2019 to August 2021, forces using CSAS closed a total of 533 drug lines, arrested 1,055 individuals, brought 1,624 charges and have a 99% conviction rate against line holders. During South Essex Police’s Operation Vietnam, CSAS helped to close 105 drug lines and allowed for evidence to be gathered in a shortened average of four to six weeks.
When the North Yorkshire Police trialled CSAS in Operation BUD, an investigation into a drugs ring importing illegal substances from Merseyside into Harrogate and beyond, it took only 11 minutes to complete the processing of a complex set of raw data. The force’s chief analyst had previously spent four months on the onerous task of cleansing this dataset manually.
The efficiency of CSAS means ‘county line’ drugs activity, amongst other serious crimes, can be identified and disrupted faster, giving officers more chance to protect vulnerable individuals, including children, who are exploited by gangs. This includes accurately identifying “cuckooed”** addresses and people within them who may be forced to act on a gang’s behalf.
The new version of CSAS includes improved processing speeds for large data sets, the ability to share operations across users and accessibility of the software anywhere in the force or from home.
Through CSAS activation on the fight against county lines, police forces have learned and applied the effectiveness of Forensic Analytics’ systems to tackle other serious issues facing the country particularly in the area of violence against women and girls (VAWG) which has been made a strategic priority for all police forces by the National Police Chief’s Council. The Metropolitan Police Service has successfully targeted stalking and harassment cases using the software to clearly identify suspects, and to tackle spates of robbery in Wiltshire.
On 30 September CSAS v3’s capabilities will be further discussed at a joint event, hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Forensic Analytics, focusing on data driven policing, with speakers including Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford, Head of Public Protection, MET Police East Area BCU and Joe Hoy, Founder and product lifecycle director at Forensic Analytics. This event is part of a greater series of discussions hosted by Forensic Analytics and Amazon Web services.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said: “Statistics show that stalking precedes over 90% of homicide cases. Whilst not all stalking behaviour will lead to a homicide, assuring how the MPS investigates stalking allegations clearly contributes to homicide prevention, disrupting stalking behaviours before they escalate. The use of CSAS has been key to driving this change in approach.”
Steve Rick, Chief Executive of Forensic Analytics, said: “Combining covert tactics and data analysis, CSAS has helped to set a new standard of best practice in policing violent organised crime. Our police force partners have achieved some stunning results using CSAS, and we now look forward to seeing what can be achieved with the added function and flexibility delivered by version three.
“Organised criminal gangs constantly adapt their approaches, and the latest evolution of CSAS will help us stay one step ahead. As police forces across the country deal with ever greater volumes of data, we look forward to working with them to tackle organised crime, free up vital police time, and disrupt county lines drug activity. This ultimately helps to protect vulnerable groups and the public at large from some of the most complex crimes committed in this country.”
For more information about CSAS, visit www.forensicanalytics.co.uk
