Met police gets extension for AI pilot with Palantir after mayor blocked deal

The Metropolitan Police has been granted a 12-month extension to a pilot project with the US surveillance technology company Palantir while it runs a new procurement process. The development comes weeks after London mayor Sadiq Khan blocked a £50m deal between the Met and the firm to automate intelligence analysis in criminal investigations.

Last month, the mayor’s office said there had been a “clear and serious breach” of procurement rules and that the police had seriously considered only one supplier. According to The Times, Palantir’s lawyers subsequently wrote to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime indicating their intention to challenge the decision in court.

The Met will now run a procurement process over the next 12 months to appoint a supplier. Regarding the force’s use of the AI system called Customer Service Engine (CSE), Met assistant commissioner Rachel Williams said on Wednesday: “We are pleased Mopac has approved the Met to continue to use this capability for a further 12 months to strengthen professional standards, root out misconduct and increase public confidence.” She added that the project allows the Met to bring together data it already lawfully holds in one place to identify potential standards, welfare or cultural concerns.

Met commissioner Mark Rowley, in a speech on Wednesday about technology use, said the pilot with Palantir focused on integrity problems within the force. He stated: “We have been able to bring together data on around 45,000 people across the organisation, moving to a discovery-based model. We can now proactively identify problem individuals or patterns and intervene before harm occurs.”

A Palantir spokesperson said: “We’re proud that our software has been used so effectively by the Met police to identify officer misconduct. This decision will enable that important work to continue.”