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Derbyshire Police Officer Investigated Over AI-Generated ‘Evidential Material’

The Guardian

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Date Published
12 June 2026
Priority Score
2
Australian
No
Created
12 June 2026, 10:00 pm

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Unidentified officer removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UK

Summary

A UK police officer is under criminal investigation for allegedly using AI systems to fabricate evidential material in multiple legal cases, marking the first known case of its kind in the country. This incident highlights critical vulnerabilities in the justice system regarding the reliability and potential misuse of generative AI for falsifying legal records. While the case focuses on domestic law enforcement misconduct rather than global catastrophic risks, it underscores the urgent need for governance frameworks to manage the deceptive capabilities of frontier AI tools. The National Police Chiefs’ Council has subsequently advised forces to halt the use of AI for preparing court statements due to significant reliability concerns.

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Derbyshire police said they were working closely with the CPS over the alleged use of AI systems by an officer to create evidential material in a number of cases. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianView image in fullscreenDerbyshire police said they were working closely with the CPS over the alleged use of AI systems by an officer to create evidential material in a number of cases. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianDerbyshire police officer investigated over AI-generated ‘evidential material’Unidentified officer removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UKA police officer is under criminal investigation over the alleged use of artificial intelligence and has been removed from frontline duties in the first known case of its kind in the UK.The officer, who has not been named, is being investigated over allegations of using the technology to “create evidential material in a number of cases” and perverting the course of justice.Derbyshire police told the Financial Times: “A criminal investigation has been launched into an allegation of perverting the course of justice after the alleged use of AI systems by an officer to create evidential material in a number of cases.“The force is working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to any potentially impacted cases.”The force added the investigation was “in its early stages” and no further details were available.It said: “The officer involved has been removed from frontline duties, pending the outcome of the investigation. No arrests have been made.”The officer’s role or the exact nature of the suspected misconduct has not been disclosed.A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said in a statement to the Guardian: “We are working with Derbyshire police as it conducts enquiries into the alleged use of artificial intelligence by an officer.“We are engaging with defence teams and the courts in appropriate cases.“As police enquiries continue, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”The investigation comes after Alex Murray, head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Police AI centre, revealed it had told a number of police forces to stop using AI systems to prepare court statements and other tasks because they may not be reliable enough.In April, the Metropolitan police launched investigations into hundreds of officers after using an AI tool built by the US tech company Palantir to root out rogue officers.The software was deployed by the Met over the course of a week, surveilling staff members using data the force has ready access to, unearthing rule-breaking ranging from work-from-home violations to suspected corruption and criminal allegations such as rape.The Met said as a result of the software, evidence had been found tying a small number of officers to serious cases of misconduct and criminality, resulting in the arrest of three officers for offences including abuse of authority for sexual purposes, fraud, sexual assault, misconduct in public office and misuse of police systems.Explore more on these topicsAI (artificial intelligence)PoliceCrown Prosecution ServiceDerbyshireEnglandnewsShareReuse this content