The West Midlands system, which police are currently developing with the help of private sector consultancy giant Accenture, will use artificial intelligence, statistics and police data to identify future criminals and victims of crime, and pinpoint those who might become an influential “hub” within a wider network of offenders involved in modern slavery. Though still in beta, the system will eventually “help the force… reduce cost across its operations”, “improve effectiveness and increase efficiency” and “reduce future demand for services”, according to Accenture’s website.

It’s unclear what will happen when the system identifies individuals as “at risk”; Superintendent Nick Dale, police lead on the West Midlands project, says the details are still being ironed out. But the pilot is a glimpse of the Home Office’s far-reaching plan to implement a National Data Analytics Solution across England and Wales, using artificial intelligence to predict which individuals are likely to commit knife and gun crime in the future.