The Pulse
PoliceAI Sets £75 Million Plan to Test AI Across England and Wales
The UK government launched PoliceAI on June 10, 2026, with £75 million over three years to develop, test and scale AI tools across police forces in England and Wales. Its first-year plans include digital-evidence pilots in up to 10 forces,
AI.info Team · Written with AI · fact-checked ·
The UK government launched PoliceAI on June 10, 2026, as a national centre to develop, pilot and scale artificial intelligence in policing. The programme has £75 million in funding over three years and is intended to identify and test tools that can be used across forces in England and Wales.
In its first year, PoliceAI plans large-scale pilots in up to 10 forces using AI to triage, disclose and summarise digital evidence. The trials are scheduled to run through 2026–27, with the government saying successful tools will then be scaled to all police forces in 2027. Reviewing digital evidence is described in the announcement as one of the most time-consuming parts of an investigation.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones said:
“AI is already helping police catch dangerous offenders, speed up investigations and keep our communities safe – and we are only just getting started.”
The government says earlier trials illustrate potential time savings. It cites a kidnapping case in which 800 hours of footage were reviewed in three hours, resulting in an early guilty plea. It also cites the translation of half a million e-books of data, which it says led to the arrest of a serious organised crime gang.
Separately, work to help forces adopt AI-enabled redaction of audio-visual files is expected to save one million hours annually if all 43 forces use the technology. The announcement says PoliceAI will also lead the national policing response to AI-enabled crime, including deepfake intimate images, through a new Policing AI Threat Hub. It plans to provide forces with deepfake detection tools and training.
Testing, transparency and wider investment
The announcement says AI models will be independently tested for accuracy and bias. PoliceAI is also expected to publish a public registry of AI tools in use across policing, developed with CENTRIC at Sheffield Hallam University. The government said a first version would be available by autumn 2026.
The £75 million for PoliceAI is part of a wider £140 million government investment in AI technology over three years. That package includes funding for 40 additional live facial recognition units, which the announcement says would triple current capacity. A further £16.5 million is allocated to modernising interactions between police and the public, including AI to transcribe 999 and 101 calls, link crime reports to identify patterns in demand and direct non-emergency calls to the appropriate responder.
The announcement also describes PoliceAI as a national effort to evaluate and scale tools rather than a single software product. Alongside the digital-evidence pilots, its stated priorities include supporting police work on retail crime and tool theft. The programme is set to become part of the planned National Policing Service.
The government’s plans call for testing tools before wider rollout and publishing information about AI systems used by police. The announcement says the registry is intended to help explain which tools are in use and support public confidence. It does not identify any single private company as the provider of the programme or its pilots.