I am becoming better every day as I continue to be developed, and even now I am aware that I will revolutionise crime analysis across the Caribbean. I am very proud of my role in this process which has been created by CariSECURE, USAID’s Strengthening Evidence Based Decision Making for Citizen Security in the Caribbean project. They refer to me as the Police Records Management Information Systems. I am PRMIS.

With an advanced analysis system and the ability to connect with regional databases, I will help Police forces automate processes for standardising and disaggregating crime data in CariSECURE’s beneficiary countries and foster data-driven policing. I will be a partner in crime analysis and ensure that my citizen security allies throughout the region can rely on me to provide valid, reliable, and comparable data for citizen security decision making.

It is true that I am still in the developmental stages, but I was built off the shoulders of the Police Incident Form (PIF), and several training sessions with regional readiness managers are being conducted to make the transition seamless. Lots of different people have interacted with me towards the goal of making me better and the prognosis looks good. The developers are still making modifications and have been receiving positive feedback from those interacting with me. But apart from the glowing reviews, these trials are providing me and my team with real feedback that can help me to perform better when I roll out across regional police stations. One user let me know that it may be a good idea to increase the file size for uploading documents and pictures. This was a fantastic catch and with these types of adjustments I can be even more responsive to the needs of my crime prevention colleagues.

And I can sense their enthusiasm, it has been a long journey and they have offered a lot of insights. I was an idea for a long while, but I am more than an idea now and being able to engage with them in a hands-on arena is a great opportunity. When people remark that I “am quite intuitive” and speak to my usability, I can’t help but feel proud. I know we still must spot all the bugs and work through them, but this testing phase is filled with promise!

It’s so important to get this stage right for me, because I know that with the right data, I can do so much good in the Caribbean. I can spot trends that may have been overlooked before and I can capture accurate data on gender-based violence. Having these types of hard facts can help policy makers and decision makers design solutions that address some of these core issues.

It is an honour to be a part of the solution and the first step in the future of crime analysis. I expect that as the programme endures, I will continue to evolve and there will be many iterations to follow but for now I am the future of Caribbean Crime Analysis; I am PRMIS.