New AI centre to free up frontline time, speed up justice and support officer welfare

Artificial intelligence (AI) will help policing fight crime and better serve victims and communities – from getting cases to court sooner and analysing CCTV for early investigative leads, to protecting officer welfare.

PoliceAI, the new national centre for AI in policing, is accelerating the responsible use of AI in forces to free up officers’ time for frontline work, improving support for victims and bringing more offenders to justice through faster, higher-quality investigations.

Formally launched today (Wednesday, June 10), the centre has evolved from the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) AI portfolio. It is hosted by the College of Policing, with £75m of Home Office funding allocated over three years.

With around 50 employees combining frontline policing experience with AI expertise, PoliceAI will work on behalf of all 43 forces in England and Wales to identify, test and roll out AI tools and training, reducing duplication, delivering consistent high standards and driving significant savings.

The centre is focused on solutions to real-world policing problems, and through its first year will prioritise areas where AI can deliver the biggest immediate benefits.

Projects already underway include:

• A tool to prepare and quality-check case files of evidence, saving time, reducing officer workload and supporting faster charging decisions. Pilots begin this year ahead of a national rollout in 2027.
• Technology to identify and categorise child sexual abuse images, reducing officers’ exposure to harmful material and speeding up investigations.
• Tools to quickly analyse CCTV and other digital media, helping detectives identify leads earlier to secure evidence and get suspects into custody faster.

The centre also hosts the PoliceAI Threat Hub (PATH), which coordinates policing’s response to the criminal misuse of AI. Its work will include tackling deepfake image abuse, delivering detection tools and training to forces to enable robust investigations and justice for victims.

PoliceAI interim director Alex Murray OBE said:

“Crime and technology are evolving rapidly. Policing must keep pace by adopting AI responsibly to catch criminals and keep people safe.

“We have created a national AI centre to help policing work smarter – our job is to get responsible AI into the hands of officers and staff so that they can spend less time on bureaucracy and more time fighting crime and helping the victims, witnesses and communities they work so hard to protect.”

PoliceAI will also use AI to tackle acquisitive crime, with a key focus on tool and bike theft, improving policing’s ability to return recovered stolen property to victims.

All use cases are designed to maximise the time and expertise of officers and staff. Safeguards ensure human judgement and decision-making remain central.

Alongside rigorous testing, PoliceAI will provide clear information about how forces use AI. A public-facing register is in development, with a first version expected in autumn.

Mr Murray, a former temporary chief constable and National Crime Agency (NCA) Threat Director, added:

 “Our work is rooted in transparency. We are committed to explaining how our chosen tools work and are evaluated, and the safeguards in place, to support public confidence in how policing uses AI.”

The launch is part of the police reform agenda, set out in the Government’s Police Reform White Paper published in January 2026, which aims to deliver the biggest redesign of policing for more than 60 years.

The centre is set to become part of the planned National Policing Service. This is a key element of the police reform ambition that will bring together existing bodies to tackle complex crime, reduce duplication, improve standards and access to technology, and better support local police forces in serving their communities.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, said:

“We are proud to have laid the foundations for the responsible use of AI in policing. PoliceAI is a real opportunity to harness new technology for the public good and equip modern policing to meet the challenges it faces.”

Chief Constable Sir Andy Marsh, Chief Executive of the College of Policing, added:

“The College of Policing is proud to host PoliceAI, an emerging technology that we are committed to explaining clearly, how it works, how it is evaluated, and the safeguards in place to build public confidence in its use.

“While history shows that some of the greatest advances in policing have come through technology, from body worn video to modern forensics, technology alone is never enough; it must be guided by strong leadership and grounded in our Code of Ethics. By combining these innovations with the College’s commitment to high standards, evidence-based practice and continuous improvement, we are facing an historic shift for British policing that will help keep the public safe and strengthen trust in the service.”

Sarah Jones, Minister for Policing, said:

“For too long, officers have spent hours behind desks processing paperwork instead of being out in their communities catching criminals. PoliceAI changes that. By putting the best of responsible AI into the hands of all 43 forces, we are freeing up millions of hours of police time, getting more cases to court faster, and delivering on our commitment to put more visible, effective policing at the heart of every community.

 “This is the future of policing — and it is happening now.”