Like many law enforcement agencies, the Halton Regional Police Service has been collecting data on its activities for years. But as is the case with most such efforts, the data was ending up in a “digital filing cabinet” — and users couldn’t find anything unless they knew exactly what they were looking for.

So in 2014, the Toronto-area police department created an analytics unit with a mandate to make things more efficient. Operating like a technology startup, the unit works to promote a culture of data-driven decision-making; it’s staffed with data scientists, mathematicians, programmers and police officers.

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