Missing Persons Enquiries and Related Linked Indices
The Metropolitan Police Service is famed around the world and has a unique place in the history of policing. Today, the Metropolitan Police Service covers an area of 620 square miles and a population of 7.2million.
The MPS commissioned SciSys to develop Merlin (Missing Persons Enquiries and Related Linked Indices), an information technology tool that assists investigations into the thousands of people who go missing in London each year. It provides information on missing persons, the protection of young people and the prevention of youth offences. It has brought together data from a range of different systems and databases into an easily accessible, single source of pan-MPS information that will assist in the protection of young, often highly vulnerable, individuals who may become susceptible to an involvement in crime or find themselves personally at risk.
Detective Chief Inspector Chris Miller said Merlin will become an invaluable tool for investigating missing and found persons, and for identifying dead bodies. "Almost 36,000 people go missing in London every year. A disproportionate number of them are children. By bringing together all the different data streams and making them accessible through Merlin we will have an increased ability to find them a lot quicker."
Lewisham PC Pete Parry believes there is no doubt that the much easier and more efficient system enhances policing to help find missing persons. "People always roll their eyes and say 'oh no, not another computer system' but once they realise what Merlin is capable of they change their minds about it."
Directorate of Information Project Manager Lyn Tripp said Merlin has arrived as a result of the hard work, commitment and support of a wide range of individuals. "It has been a real team effort by the user community, the IT Training School, the suppliers and the DoI. A big thank you to everyone involved."
See Technologies for information on technical details.
