# UK Police Seek AI Evidence Safeguards

Police forces across England and Wales are exploring AI to reduce digital-evidence review backlogs, but uncertainty about liability, data protection, evidence admissibility, and consistent national standards is slowing adoption. For procurement teams, the signal points to demand for investigation-specific systems that produce traceable outputs, maintain auditable logs, undergo continuous testing, protect sensitive data, and keep human investigators responsible for decisions. The signal does not identify a specific solicitation, contract value, or award.

- Agencies evaluating these tools can translate the identified safeguards into procurement criteria, including auditability, secure data handling, ongoing testing, and human oversight.
- Suppliers should be prepared to explain how their tools support evidentiary integrity and comply with data-protection expectations; general-purpose AI capabilities alone may not address the concerns described.
- The article promotes registration for the Think AI for Government conference in October 2026; it gives no specific event date, and the month is current as of October 27, 2026.
- John Lucey of Cellebrite characterized AI as assisting casework rather than deciding case outcomes, underscoring the importance of clearly defined human decision-making.

**Jurisdictions:** international
**Industries:** Public Safety, Information Technology
**Topics:** Artificial Intelligence, Regulatory Compliance
**Published:** October 27, 2026

### Government Entities
- Police forces across England and Wales

### Vendors
- Cellebrite ()

### Key Quotes
> AI is an assistant to accelerate casework and connect siloed data, not an investigator – it helps us get to the truth faster, but it doesn’t decide the outcome of a case.
> — John Lucey, VP EMEA at Cellebrite

### Sources
- [Police need clearer AI rules to accelerate investigations without putting evidence at risk | THINK Digital Partners : THINK Digital Partners](https://www.thinkdigitalpartners.com/news/2026/10/27/police-need-clearer-ai-rules-to-accelerate-investigations-without-putting-evidence-at-risk) - THINK Digital Partners