Palantir policing pullback driven by funding as eastern pilot pushes on

Palantir's loss of a five-force policing pilot in the East Midlands was driven by funding pressures and an assessment of the project, according to City AM. While the two-year trial of Palantir's Foundry software will end this month, the US tech firm's work with a separate consortium of forces in eastern England is reportedly continuing.

The East Midlands programme involved Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire police and aimed to integrate and analyze information held across different systems. The decision to end the pilot follows an evaluation of the technology's potential alongside the unit's future funding streams, with Home Office funding for the programme now discontinued.

Despite the setback, Palantir maintains that its software has proven effective in British policing. The company points to existing deployments across British forces, highlighting improvements in crime enforcement, such as identifying 1,000 women at risk of domestic violence in Bedfordshire and dismantling a Luton gang responsible for £700,000 in cash machine theft.

Palantir also cites efficiency gains, including reducing the analysis of seized mobile phones from 48 hours to two hours and enabling an intelligence officer to complete tasks typically done by 10 officers in eight hours. The development comes amid a separate challenge for Palantir over a proposed Met contract worth up to £50m, which was halted due to procurement and value-for-money concerns.

The company is seeking a judicial review of that decision, coming days after former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson joined Palantir as a senior vice president to oversee its UK defense, policing and NHS operations.