Societal Expectations for AI Deployments in Policing

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) by police forces remains a contentious topic. While citizens expect police forces to have the knowledge and resources to fight crimes effectively, the usage of AI by police forces raises legitimate concerns about biases, chilling effects and accountability in case of errors. This chapter provides insights into the level of societal acceptance and trust in the police use of AI, based on a national citizen consultation of 10,114 citizens in the United Kingdom. The consultation demonstrates a considerable level of public acceptance and trust but also identifies demographic and personal factors that impact acceptance and trust levels. The consultation further highlights a considerable gap between the level of desired versus perceived accountability. The extensive consultation offers important insights into the complexity of public perceptions about AI use by the police, providing evidence-based recommendations for police forces and policy makers to support higher public acceptance and trust in the use of AI.