Some of the manual methods we previously used to audit insider threats would take us a week. Now, we click a button and it’s done in 10 minutes.
Metropolitan Police Service Builds Trust with Data-Driven Governance
Key Challenges
The Metropolitan Police Service’s new Connect programme represented a significant challenge: monitoring, auditing, and governing organisation-wide data to prevent misuse and maintain public trust.
Key Results
With Splunk, the police force can now proactively identify and address misconduct within its ranks — and take action before problems escalate. Accountability meets efficiency.
At the Metropolitan Police Service, protecting the public starts with building accountability from within
Covering the majority of Greater London, the Metropolitan Police Service operates at a scale and complexity few police services can match. With a broad remit spanning everything from neighbourhood policing to counterterrorism, keeping the capital safe depends on seamless coordination across specialisms, systems and teams.
In 2022, the Metropolitan Police Service launched Connect — a major initiative designed to unify fragmented systems and surface criminal data more efficiently. This shift laid the foundation for faster, more connected crime reporting. However, as Connect unlocked a new level of visibility, it also exposed a significant blind spot. With all kinds of sensitive data now readily available to digital users, the Metropolitan Police Service lacked the capability to effectively monitor, audit, and govern how that data was being used. In short, the risk wasn’t external — it was internal. Identifying potential misconduct, such as inappropriate or erroneous access to sensitive records, was impossible to detect at scale.
Outcomes
- 298 Connect ICT breaches identified
- 4,768 hours of work saved
- 16 hours saved on average vs. manual audit investigation
- 8 staff members freed up to deliver value elsewhere
From reactive investigation to proactive detection
In response to the Metropolitan Police Service’s unique risk environment, Splunk delivered a tailored solution designed to tackle insider threats, compliance, and data misuse. Following a formal tender process, it stood head and shoulders above other, off-the-shelf solutions — not only as a security tool, but as a data platform that can help the Metropolitan Police Service address its core challenges.
“It’s refreshing to find a technology company that’s so willing to work with us and adapt to what we need as a customer,” says Graham Wenn, Detective Sergeant. Detective Inspector Jake Ellis adds, “Splunk gives the Metropolitan Police Service the insight and assurance it needs to protect integrity from within — turning complex data into actionable intelligence that supports ethical policing and public trust.”
Built on Splunk’s intelligent data platform and the Splunk Cloud, the custom solution now sits at the very heart of Connect. With it, the Metropolitan Police Service can ingest, analyse, and act on vast volumes of operational data in near real time — transforming how internal activity is monitored across the entire organisation.
Importantly, what was initially conceived as an investigative tool has quickly grown into a holistic, proactive intelligence capability. Officer and staff interactions with sensitive systems can now be monitored in far greater detail, making it easier to detect unusual or inappropriate behaviour as it occurs. And, crucially, access extends beyond specialist teams to around 150 users who’ve been trained to generate insights and develop new use cases.
All of which has helped the Metropolitan Police Service move away from reactive investigations — typically triggered by reporting concerns and requiring extensive manual effort — towards more proactive, real-time monitoring. Today, the Metropolitan Police Service can detect unauthorised access and system misuse far earlier, with greater confidence.
Arresting results
Within the first 12 months, Splunk helped the Metropolitan Police Service identify 298 Connect ICT breaches, plus a further 149 technical breaches across additional data systems.
This enhanced oversight has driven significant efficiency gains. Processes that once took days or even weeks can now be completed in minutes, allowing a small team to deliver work that previously required far greater resource. On average, each audit investigation now saves 16 hours compared to manual methods, while 8 digital analysts and police officers have been freed up to focus on other value-adding activities.
Graham explains: “Without Splunk, we wouldn’t be able to process data at this scale. We’re talking about billions of lines of code being generated every single day.”
At the same time, the Metropolitan Police Service has strengthened its approach to compliance and governance. Improved audit capabilities and greater visibility into data usage not only support regulatory requirements, but internal standards too. As Graham puts it: “It’s not just an add-on that helps us do our job. It’s actually transforming the way we perform our roles for the better.”
Importantly, the solution has proven highly accessible for a busy workforce. Intuitive dashboards and workflows have enabled rapid adoption across teams, with most users up and running in as little as 30 minutes.
Most significantly, these improvements are helping to strengthen internal accountability and public confidence. By identifying early warning signs of misconduct or corruption, the Metropolitan Police Service can act sooner — stopping issues before they escalate and reinforcing trust through greater transparency.
Setting a new standard for policing intelligence
While Splunk’s solution has already elevated the role of technology within the Metropolitan Police Service’s policing strategy, the organisation is not standing still.
The police force plans to take its data and analytics capabilities to the next level by integrating additional data sources into Connect to build a more complete picture of intelligence. What’s more, Graham and the team are also set to explore how emerging technologies like AI-driven analytics could further support proactive threat detection.
There will also be an emphasis on cross-sector collaboration. The Metropolitan Police Service is working closely with organisations like HMRC and BAE Systems to share best practice and accelerate progress. As Graham puts it: “Ours is a really good example of how the public sector and private industry can work together to achieve the right aims.”
More broadly, the Metropolitan Police Service is about to contribute to a wider shift in UK policing. Inspired in part by the organisation’s partnership with Splunk, the Home Office is exploring a data analytics approach that could be adopted as a model across other teams. By providing a proven operational framework for change, the Metropolitan Police Service will help smaller police forces adopt advanced digital capabilities quickly and effectively.
As Linda Wales, Regional Sales Manager at Splunk concludes: “Our work with the Metropolitan Police Service is a fantastic example of what’s possible when data transparency, proactive risk management, and a desire to build public trust underpin digital transformation.”
