Police use of artificial intelligence (AI): factsheet (accessible) Published 9 June 2026 What is the government’s overall policy position on police use of AI? - In the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, the Prime Minister set out his intention to maximise the potential for AI to make the public sector more efficient and effective and deliver the government’s Plan for Change. - To date, most AI activity pursued by police forces in England and Wales has been undertaken by Chief Officers using their core funding and accountable to their elected Police and Crime Commissioners. - Since the 2024 election this has been supplemented by over £50m of direct grant funding from the Home Office for specific projects, such as to fund new Live Facial Recognition vans. - In the Police Reform White Paper, the government announced a further £115m for police adoption of AI and automation which covers a range of projects such as creating a new National Centre for AI in Policing (“PoliceAI”). The aim of these projects is to rapidly equip policing with high quality AI that can make the biggest difference to public safety outcomes in local communities. - Where police forces use AI, it should be deployed responsibly. That means deployments must be lawful, ethical, transparent and based on a robust assessment of algorithms before use. It should be clear who is accountable for the AI’s performance and the use of its output by police personnel, and there should be clear operating procedures in place that set out what appropriate usage looks like. These principles are critical for building and maintaining public consent for the use of this technology. - To assist the police in using AI responsibly, the government has funded the National Police Chief’s Council to develop guidance, which is published on the College