The Government has committed £115 million to the development, testing and rollout of AI tools across police forces. A new National Centre for AI in Policing (Police.AI) has been established to drive up standards, register AI uses across forces, and help forces achieve efficiencies.
Roll-out across forces remains patchy, and the gap between early adopters and those still finding their feet is wide. The risks of getting it wrong, whether through poor governance, unchecked bias, or eroded public trust, are real.
But money and infrastructure don’t resolve the harder questions. Roll-out across forces remains patchy, and the gap between early adopters and those still finding their feet is wide. The risks of getting it wrong, whether through poor governance, unchecked bias, or eroded public trust, are real.
Facial recognition alone shows how contested this territory is. The Government is consulting on plans to expand its use in law enforcement, but questions around legal frameworks, ethical guardrails, and accountability are far from settled.
On 19th June, Westminster Insight is bringing together senior policing leaders, technologists, researchers, and governance professionals for a half-day conference on where AI in policing currently stands and where it needs to go.
The keynote comes from Dylan Alldridge, Joint Programme Director for Police.AI, on next steps for the national centre and how AI aligns with the new policing White Paper. Professor William Webster, the UK’s Biometrics and Surveillance Camera Commissioner, will set out the case for a new legal framework governing facial recognition, with the Government’s consultation still in progress.
On ethics and governance, John Tizard, Police and Crime Commissioner for Bedfordshire and APCC Joint Lead on Performance, Data and New Technology Ethics, joins Giles Herdale from the Home Office for a session on accountability, transparency, and explainability, including what responsible procurement looks like day to day.
Forces with direct implementation experience will also contribute. Chief Superintendent Simon Dodds of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police will share lessons from handling nearly two million public contacts each year with digital tools in use. Stephen Russell, Director of Data Strategy and Technology at Warwickshire Police, will address workforce readiness and embedding AI across the organisation.
Professor Matthew Tonkin of the University of Leicester’s P-ACE Lab, one of nine Policing Centres of Academic Excellence launched by the NPCC in 2025, will share findings from the lab’s work connecting research with operational policing.
What You’ll Take Away
Relevant for Chief Constables and executive teams, digital and transformation leads, data and analytics professionals, procurement and governance teams, and technology providers working with forces:
- Next steps for Police.AI and what the national centre means for your force
- The future of facial recognition and biometrics, including the legal and ethical considerations
- Procuring and deploying AI in line with the NPCC AI Playbook
- Bias, public trust, and accountability in AI tools
- Case studies from forces using AI in digital contact, investigations, and predictive policing
- Scaling local innovations and learning from what has not worked
- Latest findings from the P-ACE Lab on science, technology, and investigative capability
This conference qualifies for 4 hours of CPD, certified on attendance.
Friday 19th June 2026 | 09:30 to 13:30 | IStructE, London. Book at www.westminsterinsight.com. 25% discount with code POLINSIGHT
