"The Home Office has outlined plans for the massive roll-out of artificial intelligence (AI) and facial-recognition technologies as part of sweeping reforms to the UK's "broken" policing system. Announced 26 January 2026 by home secretary Shabana Mahmood, the reforms will see the Home Office place substantial investment into the deployment of AI and facial recognition throughout UK policing, while establishing a new National Police Service (NPS) to streamline the fragmented, 43-force model the UK currently operates under."
"and will play a critical role in coordinating, adopting and standarising the use of data-driven technologies. According to a whitepaper published by government on the reforms, deployments of AI and facial recognition vary markedly across forces, as each force making its own decisions and investments has resulted in "policing is radically under-utilising technology and data". It added that the current fragmentation of data and technology infrastructure - which are plagued by aging systems, manual processes and poor data quality - is slowing down investigations"
The Home Office plans a major roll-out of AI and facial-recognition across UK policing and will establish a centralized National Police Service (NPS) to replace the current 43-force model. The NPS will subsume central bodies including the National Crime Agency and Counter Terrorism Policing and will coordinate, adopt and standardise data-driven technologies. The government cited wide variation in current deployments, aging systems, manual processes and poor data quality that fragment investigations. Digitally enabled crime now accounts for nine of every ten crimes. AI will be applied to disclosure, CCTV analysis, case-file production, crime recording and translation to reduce administrative burdens and speed investigations. The reforms aim to free officers for front-line duties and improve conviction rates for serious offences.
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