Turning Data into Time: How Cleveland Police and Simpson Associates Delivered 50% Faster Redaction with RedactXpert® and Microsoft Azure 

Overview

Cleveland Police is a forward-thinking UK police force, responsible for the districts of Hartlepool, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees and Middlesbrough.

With tasks growing more time-consuming, the force looked for practical ways to reduce the effort spent on administrative tasks so that they could provide better support the communities they serve.

Problem

The officers at Cleveland Police were spending hours working through case files, manually redacting sensitive data with a marker pen. This lengthy process conflicted with growing amounts of case data that are available in the age of modern policing, highlighting the need for an automated redaction tool.

Cleveland Police sought a secure, cost-effective way to streamline redaction and maintain data security whilst remaining adaptable to future technology advancements and broader data modernisation goals.

Solution

Partnering with Simpson Associates, a leading Microsoft data partner in the UK, Cleveland Police implemented RedactXpert® – an AI-powered redaction tool built entirely on Microsoft Azure.

Following an AI assessment, we delivered a solution that combines Azure Document Intelligence, Azure Speech Services, and Microsoft’s large language models to automatically detect and remove personally identifiable information from documents and audio.

To meet the security and governance standards required in policing, the platform includes role-based access controls, Microsoft Entra ID for identity management, and Azure Monitor for real-time cost and performance insights.

“It’s great that officers can return to the front line because they’re not having to spend so much time on administrative tasks.”

Giles Horwood
Chief Executive Officer, Simpson Associates

Key Benefits

• 50% faster redaction, helping officers reclaim valuable time for frontline duties.

• Improved service delivery through automation, allowing officers to spend more time on investigations and community support.

• Robust data governance, supported by the policing security standards that RedactXpert® aligns with.

• Scalable, cost-aware infrastructure, using a flexible Microsoft Azure consumption model.

• Future-ready infrastructure, ensuring ongoing access to the latest AI and data analytics services.

Conclusion

This project demonstrates how Simpson Associates’ data consultancy services and AI expertise unlock measurable efficiency gains in UK policing.

By moving from manual processes to intelligent automation, Cleveland Police reclaimed valuable officer time, improved service delivery, while maintaining high standards of security and compliance.

Read the full Cleveland Police transformation on Microsoft’s customer story page.