60second briefing paper

The Open Source Communica- tions, Analytics Research (OSCAR) Development Centre is a new, innovative, multi-discipli- nary Centre bringing together THE CHALLENGES OF academics and practition- OPEN SOURCE ers to develop a research evidence base around the use of The ‘information age’ and era of big data are posing open source information for multiple challenges to policing and security agencies policing and community safety. worldwide, as more and more of social life and its Funded by the Home Office / associated conflicts and problems have a digital HEFCE / and the College of footprint. Reflecting these developments, there is a Policing, the work of the centre need to understand how large volumes of publicly will help to develop open source available data generated by social media and other methodologies, technologies and sources can be used by the police and other agen- insights that will shape the future cies in their investigative, intelligence and engagement of policing. work, relating to the full spectrum of issues from counter-terrorism to Neighbourhood Policing.

These issues are being rendered increasingly chal- WHO IS INVOLVED? lenging because of how many key communications platforms and their user communities are evolving The Centre has been established rapidly, and new technologies and capabilities are through funding from the Police being introduced. An equally important set of issues Knowledge Fund led by the Universi- concerns the legal and ethical dimensions of police ties’ Police Science Institute, which using data and materials deriving from these sources is part of Cardiff University’s Crime and the contours of public permission for this. UK and Security Research Institute. The policing has been premised upon the doctrine of other partners in the OSCAR Centre ‘policing by consent’, and as such the ethical and are: regulatory dimensions of these developments will be a core interest for the OSCAR Centre’s work as we The National Counter- seek to understand what ‘digital policing by consent’ Terrorism Functions Command; looks like. South Police; Police; At the current time, whilst there is increasing interest Police; across the policing and security sector in the poten- Safer Sutton Partnership; tials and opportunities offered by open sourcing data, Cardiff Council; there is a growing recognition of the methodological ; and conceptual challenges that have to be overcome. University of Surrey. The OSCAR Centre has been designed to develop evidence-based solutions to these challenges. THE OSCAR CENTRE’S METHODOLOGY

The Centre will use a range of innovative tech- niques, ideas and methods to engage with these challenges, underpinned by a commitment to knowledge co-production. Over the past decade UPSI has pioneered the use of knowledge co-pro- duction methodologies in developing policing policy and practice, understood as researchers and practitioners working together to:

Co-define the key problems to be worked on; These include: solutions to these problems; Co-design – where the solutions. Peer knowledge exchange events Co-delivering Thepractitioners Challenges and academics work together to clarify key problems, and best practice. The operating methodology of the OSCAR Centre of Open Source – a methodology for is built around a suite of co-production techniques ‘Red Team Tests’ challenging and critiquing current policy or designed to enable creative and innovative policy past operations. and practice development. Evidence camps – intensive courses that increase practitioners’ research literacy and understanding of how open source methods provide new forms of evidence. ‘Simulation’ Exercises – replaying past events in a controlled way to determine ‘what worked’ and ‘what didn’t’.

OSCAR Cardiff University 1-3 Museum Place Cardiff CF10 3BD

t: +44 (0) 2920 875440 e: [email protected] www.upsi.org.uk/oscar