Technology in policing: Advances and limitations

Approximate read time: 5 minutes

1. A century of technology

Police use a variety of technologies to help catch and convict criminals. Many of these technologies are now so commonplace it is hard to imagine policing without them. For example, fingerprinting techniques have been used since the early 20th century and the first conviction using DNA evidence was secured in the 1980s.^[1] The 1980s also saw the spread of CCTV and the first arrest made using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology.^[2]

Policing entered the computer age in the 1970s with the creation of the police national computer (PNC), which initially enabled forces to access a database of lost and stolen vehicles. This system has developed over time and still operates today, with forces also using a variety of other software packages and databases which differ across the country.^[3]

2. Recent developments

Two of the newer technologies introduced within policing in recent years are the use of live facial recognition technology and the deployment of drones.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) has argued that drones are “indispensable”, explaining that they can be used to locate missing persons, track offenders and provide a bird’s eye view of developing incidents.^[4] A 2023 review found that UK police forces were using nearly 400 drones and that there was “clear appetite” from senior officers to further explore how the technology could be used. Recently, police drones were used during President Trump’s state visit to the UK.^[5]

Live facial recognition uses live camera feeds of faces against a predetermined watchlist to locate people of interest.^[6] Following a pilot, in August 2025 the government announced the rollout of 10 new live facial recognition vans to seven police forces.^[7] It said these vans would enable officers to target and locate wanted criminals and suspects for the most serious crimes. The government explained that the technology had already been used to arrest suspects and maintain safety at large public events. It also said that the vans would operate according to “strict rules, which ensure they are only deployed where there is specific intelligence”. The Metropolitan Police Service has also reported that the technology has led to more than 700 arrests so far this year and had played a “critical role” in keeping the public safe at the Notting Hill Carnival.^[8] However, the technology has been not welcomed by several civil liberties groups, including Big Brother Watch and Liberty, which have raised concerns about privacy and the accuracy of the technology.^[9]

Other developing technologies currently being used or considered by police forces include autonomous vehicles and various forms of artificial intelligence, such as predictive policing (using AI or analytical software to forecast potential criminal activities), AI-enabled analytics and communications (for example automated updates for victims) or AI-supported call and response routing.^[10]

3. Opportunities and risks

Various stakeholders have highlighted the potential benefits of using new technologies within policing. These include improving performance in areas such as preventing and detecting crime and increasing efficiency. For example, the Metropolitan Police Service has said that facial recognition technologies can save police officers’ time, help identify criminals and safeguard vulnerable people.^[11] The potential for new technologies to improve communications between the police and the public has also been noted, particularly for those with disabilities or for whom English is not their first language.^[12]

However, academics, parliamentarians and human rights groups, alongside other stakeholders, have raised concerns that live facial recognition, predictive policing and profiling technologies could restrict civil liberties and impact on privacy.^[13] Stakeholders have argued that these technologies could be used to limit freedom of expression and the right to protest, or that the public could perceive limitations on these rights and consequently change their behaviour. Concerns have also been raised about the accuracy of some new technologies and the potential for them to discriminate against certain groups.

A 2022 report by the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee on the use of new technologies in the criminal justice system highlighted issues around oversight, regulation, scrutiny of application and appropriate information on what is being used, where, and how.^[14] The committee also raised concerns about the market for AI technologies and the way they can be sold to public bodies, including police forces, without transparency and with untested claims about their effectiveness. An academic study on this issue argued that a lack of consistent and transparent standards for algorithms in technology used by police forces could increase the risk of bias in their use, increase costs and inefficiencies, and lower public trust and acceptability.^[15]

Some of these concerns have led stakeholders to stress the importance of public trust in the technologies used by police. The chief scientific advisor to the police, Professor Paul J Taylor, along with other academic commentators, has argued that maintaining public trust remains a major challenge to the introduction of technology and has emphasised the importance of communication and transparency with the public.^[16]

Academics have also highlighted some of the practical obstacles to technological innovation in policing. These include the deployment of new systems at the cost of old ones, a lack of financial or political support and issues with public-private partnerships and public acceptability.^[17]

4. Read more

• House of Lords Library, ‘UN standards on the use of surveillance technology at protests’, 18 April 2024
• House of Lords Library, ‘AI technology and the justice system: Lords committee report’, 23 November 2022

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Cover image by Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash.