Students help police with their inquiries - using top maths skills
Analysis helping to Forecast issues ahead
A GROUP of students have been helping police with their inquiries – but not in the way you might think.
Six undergraduate students from the mathematics programme at the University of Leicester have teamed up with forces in the East Midlands to enhance policing through efficiency analyses.
As part of a new project in partnership with the East Midlands Policing Academic Collaboration (Empac), students examined policing demand and offered suggestions in how forces can better represent the communities they serve through their recruitment.
Four of the students used analysis skills learned on their course to scrutinise realworld crime data, and designed forecasting models to map out predicted areas of growth – and identify upcoming challenges – over the next four years.
Applied mathematics student Hannah Chander said: “For us as students, it’s such a wonderful experience to work with professionals, be trusted with real-life problems and to be able to present ideas that may not have been thought of before.
“Combining the academic rigour, logical reasoning, and critical thinking from pure mathematics and the methods and techniques from applied mathematics, we had the foundations to formulate a successful solution for the forces. This new independent work was daunting initially, but we quickly learned to manage our time, work professionally with industry partners, and engage in team environments all whilst not being able to sit in the same room as one another.
“I’m proud of the fact that our projects could potentially positively impact on improving policing.”
The second group looked at recruitment data and analysed demographic factors to help improve accessibility for applicants, especially those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Ritika Dutia, who is also studying applied mathematics, said: “This project allowed us to implement techniques we have learned throughout our degree into a real-world problem. It is fascinating to see how we can use mathematics to detect where changes can be made within the recruitment process.
“At school, you’ll often hear children asking ‘What’s the point in learning this? How will this help in real life?’ and I think that this project really highlights the applications of mathematics in society.”
Police from Leicestershire and Derbyshire took part in the collaboration on behalf of the East Midlands region, which also covers Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.
Superintendent Mark Housley from Lincolnshire Police said: “I’ve been impressed in how the students have listened to our professional work context and then come back with their original ideas and contributions to help us re-fresh our thinking.”
The initiative forms part of a strategic approach by the university to link mathematics students with public and private sector industries so the students can apply and hone their talents – using real data – while also contributing problem-solving benefits to industry and the community.