Precisely GIS software used by UK police at G7 Summit

Precisely, a software company specializing in data integrity, announced that Devon and Cornwall Police leveraged its GIS software to enhance safety measures during the 2021 G7 Summit – an annual gathering of policy leaders from seven of the world’s major democracies.

The police force’s GIS team recognized that mapping software could play an important role to bring together data from a variety of sources and data formats, providing critical context in the assessment of safety protocols leading up to and throughout the Summit. The local force combined MapInfo Pro, a desktop mapping solution that provides location-based context from data, with third-party 3D visualizations to create a digital twin that enabled precise contingency planning. This model had an accuracy of up to five millimeters.

“We had two major hurdles we had to cross during the planning phase for the G7 Summit,” said Robert Goldsmith, GIS and Mapping Manager, Devon and Cornwall Police. “The first challenge was managing the sheer volume of security protocols needed for such a high-profile event, particularly given that the Summit was hosted in two locations. This meant that safety measures were required for different venues, as well as for each of the world leaders, as they traveled back and forth. The second was giving visibility to our security partners around the world, especially as the pandemic limited the ability for teams to travel to the site in the run-up to the event.”

Goldsmith and his team used MapInfo Pro to generate 2D gridded map books of the venues and enriched them with points of interest (POI) data, such as footbridges, cell masts, bus stops, and officer and partner locations.  The team used aerial drone footage to build out an initial 3D model using capabilities provided by third-party providers. This was further augmented with 360-degree visualizations, using video footage that was captured by scanning more than 140,000 square meters of the Summit venues.

The resulting digital twin enabled Devon and Cornwall Police and their partners to anticipate security issues and create contingency plans using virtual reality headsets to remotely access locations during the planning phase. This removed the need to have more individuals on the ground than necessary in the run-up to the event, while still enabling highly accurate contingency planning to take place.

The G7 Summit went off without a security hitch, with GIS technology widely credited as being central to its success.