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Metropolitan Police has confirmed it is using artificial intelligence tools supplied by US technology company Palantir Technologies to monitor internal staff behaviour as part of efforts to improve standards and accountability.
Scotland Yard said the AI system analyses internal data, including sickness records, absences from duty and overtime patterns, to identify possible warning signs linked to professional misconduct. The force described the project as a time-limited pilot designed to bring together data from multiple internal databases to spot behavioural patterns.
The Met, the UK’s largest police force with around 46,000 officers and staff, has faced significant criticism in recent years over vetting failures and cultural issues. Public confidence was severely shaken following the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens.
In a statement, the force said there is evidence suggesting a correlation between unusually high sickness levels, increased absences or excessive overtime and broader issues in standards and workplace culture. However, it stressed that while Palantir’s system identifies patterns, human officers make all final decisions regarding performance or misconduct.
The move has drawn criticism from the Police Federation of England and Wales, which represents rank-and-file officers. The federation warned against what it described as “automated suspicion,” arguing that algorithmic profiling risks misinterpreting workload pressures or health-related absences as wrongdoing. It called for strong safeguards and greater transparency.
Concerns have also been raised in Parliament. Martin Wrigley, a Liberal Democrat MP and member of the Commons science and technology select committee, questioned oversight of the technology, asking who monitors companies like Palantir when they handle sensitive public sector data.
Palantir, co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, already holds major UK public contracts, including a £330 million NHS data platform deal signed in 2023 and a £240 million Ministry of Defence agreement in 2025. The company said it is proud that its software is being used to improve UK public services, including policing and healthcare.
The Labour government has pledged to expand AI use across policing. In its recent policing white paper, the party committed more than £115 million over three years to support the development and responsible rollout of AI tools across all 43 police forces in England and Wales.
The Met insists the technology is part of wider reforms aimed at raising standards and rebuilding public trust.
