Single Offender Identity
Exploring a single, consistent identity to unlock safer, smarter justice
Justice services currently operate with fragmented data. Records about the same individual are often duplicated, incomplete, or scattered across systems. This makes it harder to track someone’s journey through the justice system, identify risks, or deliver the right interventions at the right time.
We are scanning the potential for a single, secure identity for each person interacting with the justice system. This would provide a joined-up view of individuals across services and enable more accurate, timely, and personalised support.
A unified offender identity could support smarter sentencing, rehabilitation planning, and risk assessment. It could also help deliver earlier interventions and better coordination across departments and agencies.
This is a long-term vision. To get there, we are investing in foundational data initiatives that improve quality, interoperability, and infrastructure across the justice system.
Potential Benefits
Joined-Up Services
Enable seamless coordination between agencies with a single, consistent view of each individual.
Improved Risk Visibility
Help staff identify risk indicators and gaps in support by reducing duplication and data silos.
Stronger Public Safety
Power better decisions in sentencing, rehabilitation, and public protection through accurate data.
Case Study
Using machine learning to create a single offender identity
To address duplication and inconsistency across records, we are building the Core Person Record — a system that links offender data in real time to create a consistent view of each individual.
Developed using Splink, an open-source data linking tool from MoJ Data Science, the system uses explainable machine learning to deduplicate records and improve accuracy. It is already helping to reduce admin burdens and support better-informed decisions.
In time, this foundational work could enable more advanced AI tools that improve public safety, support rehabilitation, and ensure justice services work together more effectively.