Police forces to get access to time-saving AI technology

The AI technology will reduce the time spent on text redaction by up to 80 per cent.

The partnership with Aiimi is part of a new £10 million framework announced by the Police Digital Service (PDS) and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).

The four-year framework will give police forces access to tools that automate the process of redacting sensitive information from police reports, wider documents and case material that needs to be packaged for court.

It will also help forces keep pace with efforts to clear the increasing Crown Court backlog.

The PDS and NPCC say Aiimi’s AI will ease the administrative burden facing forces and free-up officers to tackle frontline crime.

Crucially, the technology will also enable police forces to protect sensitive information, access a full audit trail of activities, and retain control of their data.

The framework comes at a time when more crime is being reported, with cases of unauthorised access to personal information up by more than a third over the last year. This particular type of cybercrime involves more personal information and therefore more time-intensive redaction work for police.

At the same time, the Crown Court is facing the highest level of outstanding cases on record. To help digitise court processes and clear the backlog, a package of £170 million was announced in the Spring Budget earlier this month.

By auto-redacting sensitive text and readying case materials for court faster, tools made available by the framework will help the police support and keep pace with efforts by legal professionals to tackle this backlog.

In turn, the technology will enable officers to get back to dealing with frontline crime – something which the NPCC has recently highlighted an urgent need for.

Steve Salvin, founder and chief executive officer of Aiimi, said: “Private enterprises are currently leading the way in leveraging AI to their advantage. This new framework is a shining example of how we can empower public services to join them, and will put police services in the pole position.

“At Aiimi, we are enormously proud to be working with the PDS and NPCC to help police forces around the UK successfully and securely reap the benefits of AI.

“Less time spent on admin which can be automated means more time for officers to carry out vital frontline work and tackle crime. Auto-redaction tools will go a long way towards this. And the most exciting part is that this is only the start of what tech-enabled public services can achieve.”

Aiimi was selected as one of the PDS and NPPC’s chosen auto-redact technology providers following a competitive bid.

Technology from the data insights specialist Aiimi is used by the likes of the Government, the FCA, PwC, Anglian Water and Gigaclear.