2026-02-24 12:01:57

Metropolitan Police is using artificial intelligence supplied by controversial US tech giant Palantir Technologies to monitor the behaviour of its own officers and staff.

Scotland Yard has confirmed it is running a time-limited pilot that analyses internal data including sickness records, absences and overtime patterns in a bid to identify potential misconduct or cultural failings, according to The Guardian newspaper.

The move marks the first time the Met has publicly acknowledged using Palantir’s technology in this way, after previously declining to confirm or deny its involvement.

With around 46,000 officers and staff, the Met is the UK’s largest police force – and has faced intense scrutiny in recent years following a string of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens.

The force said there is evidence suggesting a correlation between high sickness levels, increased absences or unusually large amounts of overtime and “failings in standards, culture and behaviour”.

By pulling together data from multiple internal databases, Palantir’s AI system flags patterns. However, the Met insists human officers ultimately review the findings and make any decisions regarding standards or performance.

The approach has sparked alarm from the Police Federation of England and Wales, which branded the system “automated suspicion”.

A spokesperson warned that algorithmic profiling risks misinterpreting heavy workloads or stress-related sickness as wrongdoing, arguing that policing already operates under some of the most intense scrutiny of any profession.

Palantir’s growing footprint in Britain has also drawn political attention. The company, co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, has secured major public sector contracts, including a £330m NHS data deal and a £240m agreement with the Ministry of Defence.

Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley questioned the wider implications, asking: “Who is watching Palantir?”

Meanwhile, Labour has pledged more than £115m to expand responsible AI use across all 43 police forces in England and Wales, signalling that algorithm-driven policing may soon become far more widespread.

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