Transforming policing with AI: scale your impact with Microsoft  

UK policing is entering a new era of digital transformation, with artificial intelligence (AI) at the forefront. Microsoft is helping drive this change – and innovative software development companies (SDCs) are key to delivering it.  

Through platforms like Microsoft Azure, Copilot, Azure OpenAI services and the Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme, we’re supporting law enforcement innovators. These AI-powered tools help them scale solutions that improve investigations, boost efficiency and protect public trust. 

From faster evidence-processing and predictive analytics to innovative solutions that strengthen cybersecurity and improve victim safeguarding, Microsoft and its partners are helping drive modernisation across UK policing.  

Advancing national law enforcement

Our partnership efforts align with key national priorities. These include tackling serious and organised crime, countering terrorism, addressing violence against women and girls, advancing digital transformation, and delivering operational efficiency. Ethical, responsible data use underpins all our work.

Moreover, this transformation is now backed by a clear national strategy. In 2024, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) appointed its first AI Lead to guide responsible adoption across UK forces. All Chief Constables have signed the AI Covenant, a set of principles ensuring AI is used transparently, fairly and with human oversight.  

In addition, the College of Policing has issued guidance on building AI-enabled tools. As a result, forces are starting with low-risk use cases like redaction and call triage before deploying predictive systems.

Partner spotlight: innovators transforming UK policing

Altia and Pimloc are just two examples of UK software development companies using Microsoft technology to tackle policing priorities. Their work ranges from digital evidence management to privacy protection and intelligence-led investigations. 

Digital evidence overload is one of the biggest challenges facing UK police forces. Altia, a Nottingham-based investigations software company, uses AI and Microsoft Azure to automate time-consuming tasks like transcribing interviews, summarising case files and linking entities across datasets. 

Altia’s tools help officers find connections faster, reduce manual data entry and streamline case management. Whether it’s fraud, organised crime or financial investigations, Altia’s AI-powered platform acts as a digital assistant – freeing up officers to focus on solving cases, not paperwork. 

Privacy and compliance are critical in modern policing, especially when sharing video and audio evidence. Pimloc, a London-based software company, addresses this with SecureRedact – a world-leading, AI-powered multimodal redaction platform built on Azure. 

Pimloc’s technology automatically detects and blurs faces/heads; screens; personally identifiable information (PII) in audio and personal identifiers in CCTV; and dashcam, bodycam and drone footage. This enables faster, GDPR-compliant responses to subject access requests and court disclosures, while protecting sensitive data and building public trust. 

Microsoft’s role in UK policing transformation 

The journey is just beginning. We’re seeing AI move from pilots to operational use across UK policing. The NPCC’s Police.AI strategy has an AI Lead overseeing national co-ordination, which is driving this transition. At the same time, forces are investing in infrastructure and training to ensure staff can confidently use these new tools. 

In addition, Microsoft continues to refine its public safety offerings. This includes integrating OpenAI’s latest models into more products, strengthening cloud security and compliance for police data, and nurturing an ecosystem of partners to solve real-world policing challenges. 

In 2025, the Police Digital Service launched the National Police Capabilities Environment (NPCE) – a secure Azure-based cloud platform designed specifically for UK policing. It enables forces to deploy shared applications and AI tools at scale, reducing duplication and accelerating innovation.  

Microsoft Copilot is also making its way into policing workflows. From automating report-writing and summarising case files to flagging compliance risks and surfacing insights from large datasets, Copilot helps officers and staff work faster and smarter.

These tools are now being explored in areas like public contact, investigations, training, HR and finance, cutting through backlogs and improving outcomes without increasing workload.

Ensuring ethical AI, privacy and public trust 

Policing leaders are clear: AI will never replace officers. It’s a tool to support them, not supplant them. Accordingly, the NPCC’s AI Covenant and the College of Policing’s guidance ensure that AI deployments are transparent, fair and subject to human oversight. 

Concerns around privacy and bias are also being tackled head-on. Facial recognition algorithms used by UK police have undergone independent testing, and the Home Office plans to consult on new legislation to govern the use of live facial recognition (LFR).  

Moreover, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Alan Turing Institute have published joint guidance on explaining decisions made with AI.  

Ready to partner with Microsoft?

If you’re a UK-based policing startup or software vendor, here’s how to get started:

• Join Microsoft for Startups: access Azure credits, technical support and mentorship. 

• Join our ISV Success Programme: for more established vendors, this programme helps you build, scale and sell solutions with Microsoft’s support.

• List on Azure Marketplace: reach UK policing and global public-sector customers by publishing your solution on our commercial marketplace. You can also connect with me to talk about the next steps in partner success with Microsoft.  

Find out more 

Build and sell your solutions with the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme 

About the author

Ruth is a Senior Partner Development Manager at Microsoft. With a focus on driving partner success, Ruth plays a pivotal role in fostering strategic partnerships within the public sector. Her expertise lies in collaborating with software development companies (SDCs) and other businesses with substantial growth potential, particularly those interested in AI and disruptive market strategies.