Police forces across England and Wales are set to embrace artificial intelligence to review and summarise evidence, in what ministers are calling a major step forward in modernising policing and cutting bureaucracy.
The move follows the Home Office’s acceptance of key recommendations from Jonathan Fisher KC’s Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. Central to the reforms is new legislation that will allow officers to use AI technology to manage the vast volumes of digital evidence now common in criminal investigations.
From Paper Files to Data Overload
The current framework for handling evidence dates back to 1996 – long before the rise of smartphones, social media, and cloud storage. At that time, case files were often limited to a single archive box. Today, however, investigators routinely deal with enormous datasets.
Some complex investigations now involve the equivalent of more than 500,000 e-books worth of information, while the average fraud case includes over 4 million documents. This explosion in digital material has placed a significant burden on officers, who must manually review and summarise all potentially relevant evidence.
AI to Reduce Administrative Burden
Under the proposed changes, AI tools will be used to identify, sort, and compile digital files, significantly reducing the need for manual processing. Officers will still retain responsibility for oversight, but the technology is expected to streamline workflows and improve efficiency.
PoliceAI, the National Centre for Police AI, will pilot tools capable of automatically generating summaries of digital evidence. The initiative is backed by £75 million in government funding and is expected to scale across all forces by 2027.
The aim is to free up officers’ time so they can focus on frontline policing, victim support, and crime prevention rather than administrative tasks.
Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, Sarah Jones, said:
“Police officers are wasting thousands of hours trawling through phones, emails, messages, videos and cloud storage because of outdated regulations.
“That’s time that should be spent supporting victims, investigating crime and bringing offenders to justice.
“By embracing AI and new technology responsibly, we will boost productivity, bring policing into the 21st Century and free officers to focus on the frontline.”
Productivity Gains and Wider Reform
The government estimates that PoliceAI could save up to 6 million hours of police time annually by 2028 – equivalent to adding 3,000 officers without increasing headcount. The reforms form part of a wider programme described as the most ambitious overhaul of policing in nearly 200 years.
According to the Policing Productivity Review, officers spent approximately 532,000 hours in 2022/23 on disclosure work and case file preparation that ultimately led to no further action being taken by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Strengthening Oversight and Procurement
Alongside the introduction of AI, the Home Office has accepted recommendations to centralise procurement of police technology. This work is already underway as part of the broader police reform agenda and the planned creation of a National Police Service.
A new national governance forum will also be established to oversee the use of disclosure technology. Bringing together experts from policing, the judiciary, prosecution services and government, the forum will ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place as AI becomes more embedded in investigative processes.
A Step Change for Public Sector Efficiency
For public sector leaders, the reforms highlight a growing shift towards AI-driven productivity in complex, data-heavy environments. If successful, the policing model could provide a blueprint for other areas of government struggling with rising volumes of digital information and legacy processes.
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