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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Robert Booth UK technology editor

‘It’s not Robocop’: UK police embrace AI ‘efficiency’ in complex investigations

A hand holds a smartphone displaying the Palantir website, showing a dark-themed interface with data dashboards and the word “AIP,” against a blurred background with the company’s logo.
Palantir has more than £500m in high-profile contracts with the NHS and the Ministry of Defence. Photograph: GK Images/Alamy

It was fraud on a grand scale. The “Fuck the Police” criminal gang based in Luton and Romania stole £800,000 in more than 3,000 withdrawals from cash machines in dozens of locations throughout 2024.

The police investigation matched the crime in its complexity. When detectives in Bedfordshire seized the suspects’ two dozen smartphones, they were faced with a mountain of potential digital evidence – 1.4 terabytes of information, according to the authorities, connecting co-conspirators across eastern England and the Bacau region of Romania.

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