Griffith University opens crime analytics lab

Queensland’s Griffith University has launched a new social analytics laboratory at its Mount Gravatt campus that will allow researchers to access and analyse detailed crime data.

The $1 million state-funded research facility will operate as a data sharing arrangement between Griffith University and the Queensland Police Service (QPS). It is a custom-built laboratory combining high-performance computing facilities with advanced security capabilities.

Researchers will be able to access de-identified individual crime data from 2008 to 2017 from the QPS information database QPRIME.

Initial projects at Griffith University include examining crime data to identify patterns in burglary and car crime to help inform operational policing.

Plans for the facility were drawn up in 2011 and approved by the current government in early 2015.

“Queenslanders can feel comforted that the research conducted in this laboratory will inevitably lead to safer Queensland communities,” Queensland Minister for Police Mark Ryan said.

“The Palaszczuk government made a commitment that we would be open and transparent, and ensuring independent researchers will be accessing and analysing police crime data is critical for our communities to know what types of crime are occurring in their area and what preventative measures can be taken to reduce those incidents.”

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