AI and facial recognition central to biggest overhaul of UK policing in decades

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has unveiled a comprehensive white paper to reform the policing model in England and Wales. The proposed shake-up represents the most significant changes in nearly two decades. It includes the creation of a National Police Service (NPS) to tackle complex cross-border crime, as well as the potential reduction of local forces by approximately two-thirds to better allocate resources.

The white paper also outlines the government's intention to leverage technology extensively, starting with the largest-ever rollout of live facial recognition (LFR). As part of the plan, the Home Office is funding 40 additional mobile LFR vans to be deployed nationwide. To support this, a bespoke legal framework will be established to provide the public with clarity on where and how these tools are used, ensuring innovation is balanced with robust oversight and accountability.

Meanwhile, a new National Centre for AI in Policing (Police.AI) will be established with an investment of £115 million over the next three years. Its aim will be to identify and test AI tools to assist officers with time-consuming tasks, such as analysing CCTV footage and transcribing documents. A public-facing registry will also be created to list the AI tools in use and the measures taken to ensure their reliability in order to maintain public consent.

In a statement responding to the news, Matthew Feeney, Advocacy Manager at Big Brother Watch, said: "The Home Secretary announcing the costly rollout of a mass biometric surveillance technology is especially egregious at a time when the government has yet to finish an ongoing facial recognition consultation. Sadly, this latest news justifies Big Brother Watch’s long-standing concerns that police will use facial recognition as a tool for mass surveillance."

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