UK to launch national centre for AI in policing

The UK government is preparing to formally launch PoliceAI, a national centre dedicated to AI in policing, later this month. The centre began mobilising in April 2026 and will support police forces in England and Wales with the responsible adoption of AI and automation.

The government says the use of AI in policing must be lawful, ethical and transparent, supported by robust algorithmic assessments before deployment. It also emphasises that accountability for AI performance and the use of AI-generated outputs must be clearly defined through operational procedures and governance frameworks.

PoliceAI will be hosted by the College of Policing and funded through a Home Office grant under Section 57 of the Police Act 1996. The centre is expected to coordinate AI-related activity across police forces, helping to reduce duplication, improve consistency and strengthen public confidence.

PoliceAI will include an AI Lab responsible for developing, testing and evaluating AI tools, products and services for policing applications. It will assess commercial products and open-source models, benchmark their performance in a UK policing context, run sandbox testing, and support more informed procurement and deployment decisions by Chief Officers.

PoliceAI will also support forces with adoption, guidance, procurement, training, and business change. A dedicated strategy and oversight function will also maintain a public registry of AI models used in operational policing, including details of testing, governance checks and deployment safeguards.

Initial priorities include case file assistants, disclosure assistants, crime data integrity tools, rapid analysis of CCTV and digital media, image identification and classification, governance for Copilot use, transcription and translation tools, and possible AI applications for retail crime and tool theft. A Policing AI Threat Hub will support efforts to address criminal misuse of AI, including the detection of deepfakes and AI-generated false evidence.

Why does it matter?

Police forces are increasingly exploring AI tools to support investigations, administrative tasks, evidence analysis and operational decision-making. However, the use of AI in law enforcement raises important questions about transparency, accountability, bias, public trust and oversight.

PoliceAI represents an effort to create a more coordinated approach to AI adoption across policing in England and Wales. By providing testing, governance, training and public transparency mechanisms, the centre aims to help police forces deploy AI technologies more consistently while addressing concerns about their responsible use.

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