Police in England and Wales told to pause AI use in court statements

In short: Police forces in England and Wales have been told to halt the use of AI tools for writing court statements and similar legal tasks until safeguards are in place.

What happened

Several UK police forces were using commercially available AI tools to help turn interviews into court statements. Alex Murray, head of the Police.AI centre, said he intervened and told some forces to pause, because the tools had not been properly assessed.

Murray said technology used in the criminal justice system needs accuracy “beyond reasonable doubt.” He also warned forces against using AI for other tasks, including preparing “disclosure schedules,” which are records of evidence that must be shared with the defence before a trial.

The concerns are partly about “AI hallucinations,” which is when an AI system makes up false information that looks believable (like a confident student who invents an answer). Murray pointed to a previous incident where West Midlands Police used AI-generated material from Microsoft Copilot that falsely claimed there had been a past football match involving Maccabi Tel Aviv, as part of a dossier.

Police.AI was set up this year as part of government reforms aimed at improving efficiency in policing. The Home Office has backed the initiative with £115m over three years, and the home secretary has said it could save time equivalent to adding 3,000 officers.

Why it matters

Court statements and evidence lists can affect whether someone is charged, how a trial runs, and whether justice is done. If an AI tool makes a mistake and nobody catches it, the error could end up in court documents. Murray said AI may still help in safer areas, like searching CCTV for a suspect or sorting large amounts of digital evidence, but only after clear rules, testing, and training.

Source: Financial Times