Police officers launch breakthrough efforts to use AI to review and summarize evidence. This frees police officers from the morass of red tape and gives them more time to fight crime on the streets.
Current guidance on evidence management was introduced in 1996. There were still iPhones, Google, Facebook, and WhatsApp, and case files were often housed in one box. Some investigations now include more than 500,000 e-books’ worth of data, and the average fraud case contains more than 4 million documents.
The Home Office today accepted key recommendations from the Jonathan Fisher KC Independent Review into Disclosure and Fraud Offenses, including legislation to allow the use of AI to enhance the way evidence is reviewed.
The reforms will help police officers manage the vast amounts of digital material generated during modern investigations, reduce bureaucracy and help provide speedy justice to victims.
The current system involves officers manually processing all files potentially relevant to an investigation and providing a written summary. The proposal would allow police officers to use technology to identify, categorize and edit millions of files that are currently reviewed manually.
Using funding from the Home Office, PoliceAI will also pilot an AI tool that can automatically generate summaries of digital material, saving investigators countless hours on administrative tasks, with the aim of rolling it out to all police forces in 2027.
Minister for Police and Crime Prevention Sarah Jones said:
Police officers waste thousands of hours searching phones, emails, messages, videos, and cloud storage due to outdated regulations.
That’s time that should be spent supporting victims, investigating crimes, and bringing criminals to justice.
Embracing AI and new technologies responsibly will increase productivity, bring policing into the 21st century and free up officers to focus on the front line.
PoliceAI Interim Director Al Murray said:
The discovery process is an essential safeguard in the justice system, but the scale of digital evidence involved in modern investigations requires modern solutions.
When used responsibly, AI can help police officers and investigators manage vast amounts of material more efficiently, freeing them up to spend more time assisting victims, tracking criminals, and exercising professional judgment that technology can never replace.
PoliceAI’s role is to help police deploy these capabilities in an evidence-based, ethical and reliable manner, giving forces access to tools that are rigorously tested and supported by rigorous national standards and oversight.
This is not about replacing humans with technology. It’s about meeting the demands of modern policing and giving officers better tools to serve the public more effectively.
Today’s announcement follows the launch of PoliceAI, the National Center for Police AI. Backed by £75m of government funding, PoliceAI is expected to free up an estimated six million hours of police time a year by 2028, equivalent to an additional 3,000 police officers, and is part of the government’s most ambitious police reform program for almost 200 years.
The Police Productivity Review estimated that officers spent around 532,000 hours on discovery work and case file preparation in 2022/23, with the CPS later assessing that no further action was needed.
Graham McNulty QPM, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, said:
Modern fraud, bribery and corruption cases involve vast amounts of digital data, and our disclosure regimes need to keep pace with that reality. I welcome the Government’s response to disclosure reform, which represents a positive step forward.
We are particularly pleased that the Government is exploring opportunities to pilot new centralized disclosure regimes and look forward to continuing to work with other countries to bring disclosure practices fully into the digital age.
The Home Office has also accepted Dr Fisher’s recommendations for central procurement of police technology. This work is already underway through the government’s police reform program and the creation of the National Police Agency.
The Home Office also accepted a recommendation to establish a national governance forum on disclosure technology. This forum brings together law enforcement, judicial, prosecutorial and government experts to monitor emerging technologies and ensure strong safeguards are in place.
Chief Constable Tim de Meyer, head of disclosure at the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said:
Good disclosure practices are essential to the fair and impartial investigation necessary to ensure a fair trial.
We would like to thank Jonathan Fisher KC and his team for the opportunity to contribute to this review and for producing such a comprehensive and insightful piece. This shows how complex disclosure has become and how using technology safely and responsibly can make the system more efficient and effective.
The NPCC is committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to realize its recommendations.
