The Metropolitan Police is in talks with Palantir Technologies over software that could automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations, according to the Guardian. If a deal moves forward, it could mark one of the most significant expansions of AI use inside the UK’s largest police force.
According to the report, senior officers in the Met’s intelligence division were shown Palantir’s systems last month. Staff are understood to be reviewing where AI could reduce manual workloads, speed up case assessments and improve productivity.
Inside the Met, some officials are uneasy about a foreign private contractor handling highly sensitive intelligence data, including information connected to victims and witnesses. Intelligence officers pushed back directly, reports Bloomberg.
Palantir already supplies the Met with experimental AI tools to help identify rogue officers, creating an existing commercial relationship that could grow into a far larger contract.
Palantir’s existing UK public-sector contracts already exceed £500 million across the NHS, the Ministry of Defence, local councils, and 11 smaller police forces. A Met deal would represent a step-change in scale, with around 46,000 officers and staff.
London’s force is a far bigger operational and political test than any regional deployment.
No agreement has been confirmed, but the direction is clear: AI is moving from pilot projects to core policing strategy, and Palantir wants to be at the centre of it.
