London’s Met Police investigate hundreds of officers after AI flags misconduct risks

Britain’s largest police service, the Metropolitan Police (Met), is investigating hundreds of officers after deploying an artificial intelligence (AI) tool built by tech company Palantir to identify misconduct within its ranks.

The Met used the software to monitor staff using data already available to the force, flagging issues ranging from policy breaches to suspected corruption and serious criminal allegations like rape, according to The Guardian.

After using the software for a week, the Met identified a small number of officers linked to serious criminal cases or breaches.

This led to the arrest of three officers for offenses like abuse of authority for sexual purposes, fraud, sexual assault, misconduct in public office, and misuse of police systems.

Corruption was the most common identified offense, with 98 officers investigated for “abuse of the IT system that rosters shifts by police officers for personal or financial gain”. On top of that, 500 more officers had received prevention notices on the same grounds, bringing the total number of related cases to 598.

According to the Met, 42 senior officers are being assessed “for misconduct for serious noncompliance” related to repeated absences from the office. Some falsely claimed to be in the office while working from home, which is a breach of the Met’s rules stating that in-office attendance cannot fall below 80%.

Additionally, the software identified 12 officers who had failed to disclose their relationship with Freemasons, classified under the Met’s "declarable associations policy". They are being investigated for gross misconduct. Thirty officers received prevention notices for suspected undisclosed membership, though the Met said these cases are “currently uncorroborated”.

The system analysed historical internal data to identify patterns of misconduct.

The Met commissioner, Mark Rowley, said: “Criminals are constantly adapting how they use technology and policing has to keep pace, not just on the streets but within our own organisation.

“This is the Met using technology, data and stronger legal powers to confront poor behaviour, raise standards and fix our foundations as our communities would expect.”

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Palantir is an American tech company with ties to Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement programme, ICE, and the US military. The UK has more than £500 million ($676 million) in contracts with Palantir, including deals with the police and Ministry of Defence, as well as a £330 million contract with the National Health Service (NHS).

However, several British MPs consider the company to be “entirely unsuited” to handle citizens’ personal data, pointing to controversial contracts with US security agencies and the military. Over 200,000 people have signed two petitions calling on the UK government to cut ties with Palantir.

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