Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice they will give to Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners on the use of artificial intelligence by police Chief Scientific Advisers.
Where artificial intelligence tools are used, or plan to be used, in policing they must comply with existing legal standards and principles. The Government is supporting the College of Policing and Police Chief Scientific Advisor to create guidance which will advise police forces on how to approach the adoption of new data driven technologies including AI. This will include sections on transparency and accountability. Where AI is used, the Government is enabling collaboration between police forces and independent experts to build trust in its performance. On 5 April 2023 the NPL published independent research, funded by the Government, looking at the performance of facial recognition algorithms in police operational settings.
The Government’s consultation on its AI regulation white paper closed on 21 June. The white paper proposed five cross-cutting principles - which included transparency and accountability - and, following an initial non-statutory period, proposed introducing a statutory duty requiring regulators to have due regard to the principles. The Government will update on the proposals in its response to the white paper consultation.