Ban ‘Crime Predicting’ Police Tech

AI and police tech don’t predict crime - they predict policing.

These technologies are built on existing, flawed, police data. So communities who have historically been over policed are more likely to be identified as at ‘risk’ of future criminal behaviour. This leads to more racist policing and more surveillance, particularly for Black and racialised communities, lower income communities and migrant communities. Instead of making us safer, this tech leads to:

No matter what the police claim, AI-driven policing tools aren’t neutral. They don’t fix police racism - they automate it. The same flawed data operationalises these technologies, which are then used in our neighbourhoods, without transparency or consent.

Right now, three-quarters of UK police forces are already using these harmful tools. If we don’t act, police use of these technologies will only reinforce racist policing and punish poverty.

We all want safe communities. But ‘crime predicting’ AI doesn’t prevent crime - it creates fear and undermines our fundamental right to be presumed innocent.

The EU has recognised the harms of ‘crime predicting’ AI and has banned the use of AI for predictive policing. We want the UK government to take action and ban crime predicting AI and police tech. 

This fight isn’t new. Communities have been resisting police abuse of technology for years - and winning. From the successful campaign to scrap the Met Police’s Gangs Matrix Database to ongoing efforts against automated racial profiling, we’ve seen the power of collective action.

But now, it is time for us to take a stand for safety, not surveillance and ban police from using ‘crime predicting’ AI and police tech for good.