Nottinghamshire expands use of case-cracking software

Chorus Intelligence software is capable of processing and analysing thousands of lines of mobile phone data and has already been used in a limited capacity by the force. It will now be rolled out to more investigative teams.

The software played a vital role in the recent conviction of violent, armed gang of Nottingham drug dealers.

Detectives were able to conclusively link so called ‘burner phones’ used by gang members to retrospectively track their movements over a period of several weeks.

By analysing thousands of lines of data in a matter of minutes, officers were able to link text messages and phone data to gang members’ movements. That allowed detectives to retrospectively show where key members of the gang were at crucial times and who they were in contact with.

Gang Leader Akeem Chand was handed a life sentence for his role in a series of shootings and the dealing of vast quantities of cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin. Several other gang members were each jailed for more than 20 years.

Although detectives have been using mobile phone data to gather crucial evidence against suspects for many years, the process has traditionally taken days or even weeks. Thanks to the use of the Chorus software, many hours of detectives’ time can be saved and connections made to potential suspects that may otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Detective Chief Inspector Rich Bull said: “Modern investigations can be extremely complex, with detectives working to unpick the movements of multiple suspects, often over extended periods of time. Drug dealing gangs in particular make use of multiple mobile phones to conduct their business. We have long been able to piece together their movements and generate extremely strong evidence against them – but that has often taken many days or weeks of work by multiple detectives.

“This new software allows a single detective to achieve the same results in a far shorter amount of time. That means that rather than releasing a suspect on bail and back into the community we can very quickly process the evidence, secure a charge and get them remanded in custody.

“We used this approach recently to lock up an especially violent and dangerous drug dealing gang who were later convicted by a jury of drugs and firearms offences and jailed for a very long time.

“Our recent investment in the Chorus system has allowed us to expand this capability to additional teams of detectives. That is great news for law abiding residents but bad news indeed for local criminals. “

Boyd Mulvey, chief executive officer of Chorus Intelligence, said: “It is a privilege to support Nottinghamshire Police with our technology and hear these positive stories about solving crime. Tangible examples like the case of the Nottingham gang give myself and everyone at Chorus a real sense of purpose. We will continue to work hard alongside UK policing to provide the right tools that tackle serious and organised crime and keep the public safe.”