Rules urgently needed to oversee police use of data and AI – report

National guidance is urgently needed to oversee the police's use of data-driven technology amid concerns it could lead to discrimination, a report has said. The study, published by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) on Sunday, said guidelines were required to ensure the use of data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and computer algorithms developed "legally and ethically". Forces' expanding use of digital technology to tackle crime was in part driven by funding cuts, the report said. Officers are battling against "information overload" as the volume of data around their work grows, while there is also a perceived need to take a "preventative" rather than "reactive" stance to policing. Such pressures have led forces to develop tools to forecast demand in control centres, "triage" investigations according to their "solvability" and to assess the risks posed by known offenders. Examples of the latter include Hampshire police's domestic violence risk-forecasting model, Durham police's Harm Assessment Risk Tool (Hart) and West Midlands police's draft integrated offender management model.