How Data and AI can help police forces respond to growing Clare’s Law demand

As demand on safeguarding teams continues to grow, many police forces are facing increasing pressure to deliver Clare’s Law disclosures quickly, consistently and with appropriate governance. Managing disclosures at scale requires UK police forces to balance demand, decision-making, governance and auditability, whilst maintaining a focus on safeguarding outcomes. 

A recent webinar, hosted by experts from both Simpson Associates and South Wales Police, focused on how data, AI and structured workflows can support a more efficient Clare’s Law process. Through a practical discussion and proof-of-value demonstration, the webinar examined the realities faced by operational teams and highlighted opportunities to improve consistency and improve efficiency savings. 

This blog will dive into the challenges faced in delivering crucial disclosures, and how data & AI can support rising operational demand. 

What is the Clare’s Law challenge?

Clare’s Law is a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, allowing individuals to access information about a partner’s history of abusive behaviour, in order to help prevent domestic abuse. This plays an important role in helping individuals access information that may support their safety.   

The scheme operates through two routes: 

The Right to Ask (RTA): This pathway allows an individual to proactively request information from the police about a partner or former partner. Requests can also be made on behalf of someone they believe may be at risk, such as a family member or friend. Following a Clare’s Law application, police must assess the information available, determine whether a disclosure is lawful, necessary and proportionate, and make a relevant decision based on these considerations. 

The Right to Know (RTK): The second pathway enables police to make a disclosure without receiving a request. If information becomes available during policing activity or investigations that suggests someone may be at risk of domestic abuse, officers can consider whether a disclosure should be made to protect the safety of that individual. 

Whilst the routes slightly differ, both require thorough information gathering, consistent decision-making and robust data governance. 

Delivering disclosures, however, can place operational demands on safeguarding teams. As demand continues to rise, forces are reviewing how existing processes operate and where opportunities exist to improve efficiency whilst maintaining the standards required for decision-making and accountability.  The challenge is not simply handling more requests. It is ensuring that every decision is consistently supported by accurate information and underpinned by the appropriate and crucial governance. 

A key part of the recent webinar discussion focused on the day-to-day realities of delivering Clare’s Law disclosures. South Wales Police shared a practical perspective on what delivery looks like, what “good” looks like within the process, and the changes being made to improve consistency and turnaround times using data and AI. 

For forces reviewing their current Clare’s Law process, these practical insights provide valuable context for understanding both the challenges and opportunities associated with managing Clare’s Law at scale, as well as the next steps. 

How can data and AI contribute to a more efficient Clare’s Law process? 

One area explored during the recent webinar was data matching and information gathering. Clare’s Law reviews often require information to be drawn together from multiple systems and sources before a disclosure decision can be made. This can be both time-consuming and resource intensive. The proof-of-value demonstrated how data could be brought together in a more structured way, helping teams access relevant information while also reducing the time associated with manual searches. 

The webinar also explored the role of AI-powered summarisation in supporting policing disclosure teams. Faced with vast amounts of information, teams must quickly identify risk indicators and develop a detailed understanding of each case before reaching a decision. Using data and AI, the solution accelerates this process by reducing research time, improving efficiency and enabling faster disclosures. Simultaneously, it helps reduce the risk of important information being missed, whilst human-led checks still remain. 

Governance remains a crucial part of the process, and the Clare’s Law disclosures require decisions to be lawful, proportionate and defensible. The proof-of-value placed significant emphasis on audibility and governance, helping to ensure that information can be appropriately recorded and reviewed. By creating a clear audit trail, forces can strengthen transparency and support confidence in decision-making processes.  

The discussion reinforced an important principle: successful use of AI in policing is not about automating safeguarding decisions. Instead, it is about equipping operational teams with better information, presented at the right time, through a structured and governed process that supports consistent outcomes. 

Conclusion 

As demand for Clare’s Law disclosures continues to grow, this places more pressure on safeguarding teams across UK police forces. 

As discussed by Simpson Associates and South Wales Police, data, AI and structured workflows offer an opportunity to support more efficient and auditable processes. By improving access to information, supporting triage and strengthening governance, technology can help forces respond to increasing demand whilst simultaneously maintaining the consistency and accountability that safeguarding decisions require. 

The future of Clare’s Law is not simply about more technology. It is about equipping operational teams with the tools and information they need to make timely, informed and defensible decisions that help keep communities safe. 

How Simpson Associates can help 

Simpson Associates is a trusted data transformation consultancy to over 65% of UK police forces, helping them turn complex data into clear, actionable intelligence.  

Named Microsoft Partner of the Year for our work with TOEX (Tackling Organised Exploitation), we bring award-winning expertise in data modernisation, advanced analytics, and AI. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner and Databricks Partner, we combine leading technologies with deep policing knowledge to deliver secure, scalable solutions.  

Whether you’re integrating data from multiple systems, enabling intelligence-led policing, or exploring how AI can support operational priorities, we help forces make better decisions, deploy resources more effectively, and demonstrate measurable impact.  

If your force is looking to get more value from its data, we’d welcome the conversation. Get in touch via email or live chat.