Sheffield software company develops electronic database for child protection in East Midlands
Illuminaries Ltd, a Sheffield company with a staff of three, has developed a bespoke database for the protection of children and young people. The software has completed a successful three-month pilot by the charity Safe & Sound Derby. Called Electronic Dynamic Investigation System (EDIS), the database means that the charity’s paper records are now stored electronically enabling Safe & Sound’s staff to see connections between and gain a better understanding of fragmented pieces of information relating to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and young people in Derby.
The Illuminaries team, led by its founder Dr Tony Bennett, has been developing the bespoke database since 2010 as an important contribution to child protection and the work of Safe & Sound Derby in particular. Nathalie Walters its Chief Executive said: “Since its implementation, staff time on data entry has been reduced and EDIS is enabling us to manage and access the information we need to effectively support children, young people and families in a much more efficient way."
The value of the development work on EDIS up to this proof of concept stage is about £100,000 and EDIS was trialled by Safe & Sound Derby on a pro bono basis. Commenting on this, Dr Bennett said: We decided not to work on a strict commercial basis for this initial stage because of the importance of the tool in protecting children and young people. If we have protected just one person because EDIS was in place during the three-month trial, then all the work we have done will have been worth it.”
Safe & Sound is a highly respected organisation based in Derby and was instrumental in helping police to successfully prosecute nine leaders of a sex trafficking ring based in Derby in 2010. Known as Operation Retriever, it was one of the most serious cases of sexual abuse in the UK in recent times.
Illuminaries has 10 years experience in this field and previous work includes developing child protection databases for the NHS in Leeds and Birmingham and a major national multi-agency project (worth around US$150,000) for UNICEF. Since the project in Derby began, Illuminaries has won a further contract with Portsmouth NHS Trust which is a contract to develop a database for their Safeguarding Children Team.
About Illuminaries Ltd
The company, founded by Dr Tony Bennett, has a staff of three and is based in Sheffield. Dr Bennett, originally a research physicist, has 30 years’ experience as a software developer and great experience in child protection database development as well as creating data systems for the NHS.
About Safe & Sound Derby
Safe & Sound Derby is a charity and was set up in 2002 to support victims of child sexual exploitation and to help them escape sexual abuse. It also works to prevent young men and women from becoming victims of this crime in the first place. Nationally, Safe & Sound Derby advocates for children and young people being, or at risk of being, sexually exploited and works to share good practice, knowledge and expertise with other agencies involved in this work throughout the UK. It has 11 employees currently supported by three trained volunteers and works with a budget of around £500,000. For more information: www.safeandsoundderby.co.uk
