In the first known incident of its kind in the UK, a police officer has been removed from front-line duty after being investigated criminally for allegedly using artificial intelligence.
The officer, who has not been named, is under investigation for allegedly using the technology to “create evidence in a number of cases” and perverting the course of justice.
Derbyshire Police told the Financial Times: “A criminal investigation has been opened for allegedly perverting the judicial process after police officers were suspected of using an AI system to create evidence in a number of cases.
“Police are working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service on any cases that may have an impact.”
The force added that the investigation was at an “early stage” and no further details were available.
“The officers involved have been removed from front-line duty pending the outcome of the investigation. No arrests have been made.”
The exact nature of the officer’s role or the alleged wrongdoing was not disclosed.
In a statement to the Guardian, a spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “We are working with Derbyshire Police to investigate the alleged use of artificial intelligence by police officers.
“We are working with defense attorneys and courts on appropriate litigation.
“As the police investigation continues, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
The investigation comes after Alex Murray, director of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Center for Police AI, revealed that he had told many police forces to stop using AI systems to prepare court statements and other work because they may not be reliable enough.
In April, London’s Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into hundreds of police officers after they used an AI tool developed by US tech company Palantir to weed out unscrupulous officers.
The software was deployed by the Met over a week to monitor staff using data readily accessible to police, uncovering breaches of rules ranging from working from home violations to suspected corruption and crimes such as rape.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that the software uncovered evidence that a small number of its officers were involved in serious misconduct and criminal activity, resulting in the arrest of three officers on charges including sexual abuse, fraud, sexual assault, misconduct in office and abuse of police systems.
