Aker Enables Secure Exploitation of Police Data in the Public Cloud

The Client

The Police and Public Protection Technology Portfolio (PPPT), part of Home Office Digital, delivers digital solutions for policing and public protection. PPPT designs, builds, and operates major transformation programmes and critical national policing systems — including the Police National Computer (PNC), National ANPR Service (NAS), and the Violent and Sex Offender Register (ViSOR).

Working in close partnership with UK police forces and law enforcement agencies, PPPT’s mission is to leverage data as a strategic asset — enabling smarter, faster, and more connected policing.

The Home Office required a secure, repeatable, and accredited cloud capability to exploit highly sensitive police data at scale. Historically, acquiring and analysing this data was manual, fragmented, and time-consuming, constraining innovation and operational intelligence.

In collaboration with the Home Office Data Services & Analytics (DSA) unit, the objective was to establish a new capability — the National Police Data Lab (NPDL), to enable data scientists and operational consumers.

The Challenge​

Rich policing datasets were under-exploited, limiting opportunities to enhance operational effectiveness through data-driven insight.  The Home Office, in partnership with policing and technology bodies, sought to combine data from critical national systems — such as NAS, PNC, and ViSOR — to uncover new insights and support intelligence-led operations.

However, the absence of a secure, high-capacity analytics environment, coupled with strict security, data-protection, and ethical constraints, had prevented progress. The unconnected nature of policing systems further hindered collaboration and innovation.

The ambition was clear: to leverage the public cloud to provide the required access, scale, and analytical capability — while maintaining full compliance with Home Office and National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) security standards.

The Solution​

Aker Systems, working in partnership with the Home Office DSA and PPPT and key delivery partners, was commissioned to design, build, and operate the NPDL — a secure cloud-based capability enabling the safe exploitation of sensitive law enforcement data.

Aker delivered a police-accredited AWS data platform, designed and operated to OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (HIGH) standards, integrating advanced security, governance, and analytical capabilities to meet the Home Office and Policing’s stringent assurance requirements.

Key solution delivery and capabilities included:

• Secure Cloud Foundations: A police-accredited AWS environment built to OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (HIGH), leveraging AWS CloudHSM, MDM, and CyberArk for data protection, encryption, and privileged-access management.
• Secure and Scalable Data Ingestion: Automated, repeatable, and auditable onboarding of datasets from PNC, ViSOR, and NAS, using AWS Snowball and secure pipelines to ensure end-to-end integrity.
• Governance Framework: Supported the creation of a Target Operating Model defining data-approval, ethics, and evidential processes to ensure transparent and compliant data use.
• Collaborative Delivery: Close coordination with Home Office PPPT, law-enforcement accreditors, and partners such as BAE Systems, ensuring full alignment with national-security standards.
• End-to-End Delivery Assurance: From stakeholder engagement and requirements definition through to architecture, build, and onboarding — ensuring the NPDL could securely process, manage, and analyse OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (HIGH) datasets.

The result was a trusted, compliant, and reusable cloud capability that established the foundation for cross-agency data collaboration and advanced analytical insight, directly supporting the Home Office’s vision for modern, data-driven policing.

The Technology 

The NPDL was built on a secure, scalable, and accredited AWS architecture designed to process and protect law-enforcement data at OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE (HIGH).

Core technology components included:

• AWS Cloud Platform: Multi-account, security-zoned architecture using AWS S3, RDS, and Amazon MSK, with CloudTrail and CloudWatch for full audit and observability.
• Encryption and Key Management: AWS CloudHSM and KMS provided cryptographic control, ensuring encryption in transit and at rest to meet evidential-integrity requirements.
• Identity and Access Control: Integrated CyberArk and federated identity providers enforced least-privilege access and strong role-based controls.
• Data Ingestion and Processing: Automated pipelines using AWS Snowball, Lambda, Amazon Managed Kafka (MSK), and containerised Docker applications securely extracted, transformed, and loaded data from national systems.
• Governance and Compliance Framework: Embedded data-protection, audit, and ethics controls aligned with Home Office governance and NCSC Cloud Security Principles, ensuring traceability and assurance throughout.

This foundation created a repeatable, standards-compliant blueprint for secure police data exploitation in the cloud — delivering resilience, agility, and confidence for future national initiatives.

The Value​

The National Police Data Lab, delivered by Aker, successfully enabled the secure exploitation of live police data in the public cloud — a UK first.

• Secure and Trusted Capability: Proven environment for handling highly sensitive police data.
• Operational Efficiency: Automated, repeatable acquisition reduced manual effort and accelerated time-to-insight.
• Evidence-Based Decision Making: Enabled analytical studies across multiple law-enforcement datasets.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Provided a platform for joint Home Office – Police data exploitation.
• Future Foundation: Validated the approach for follow-on programmes such as the National Crime & Justice Lab (NCJL).

This initiative showcases Aker’s innovation, flexibility, and delivery excellence in enabling government departments to securely transform how they use data — delivering mission-critical outcomes with speed, certainty, and trust.

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