Met Police uses Palantir AI to investigate hundreds of officers

TL;DR:

• The Metropolitan Police deployed Palantir software for one week against its own workforce and now has hundreds of officers under investigation.
• Cases range from working-from-home rule breaches to corruption, undeclared Freemasonry and three arrests for offences including sexual assault and misuse of police systems.
• For UK businesses, the deployment is an early concrete data point on what “internal AI surveillance” looks like in practice — and on the procurement decisions forces will face as Palantir expands further into UK public services.

The Metropolitan Police has opened investigations into hundreds of its own officers after a week-long deployment of Palantir AI software designed to surface internal misconduct, according to The Guardian. The force says the tool sifted data it already held lawfully and produced cases spanning hybrid-working violations, alleged corruption and serious criminal allegations.

According to figures cited by the Met, 98 officers are being assessed for misconduct linked to manipulating shift-rostering systems for personal or financial gain, and a further 500 received prevention notices for the same conduct. Forty-two senior officers, ranks chief inspector to chief superintendent, are under assessment for falsely claiming office attendance. Twelve officers face gross misconduct probes for failing to declare Freemason membership — a recently declarable interest within the force — with another 30 issued prevention notices on suspected undeclared membership. Three officers were arrested on offences including abuse of authority for sexual purposes, fraud, sexual assault, misconduct in public office and misuse of police systems.

A wider Palantir footprint

The deployment is the latest sign of the Met deepening its use of Palantir’s products. The force is already in negotiations to buy further Palantir technology to support criminal investigations, and the company holds a £330 million NHS contract that MPs called this month to be scrapped. Palantir’s links to the Trump administration’s ICE programme and to the Israeli military have repeatedly drawn UK political scrutiny, even as forces and departments expand their use of the firm’s platforms.

Looking forward

For UK police forces watching the Met, the deployment doubles as a procurement stress test: the same kind of data-fusion tool can flag minor rule breaches and serious crimes in the same sweep, but only if the force is comfortable defending the surveillance posture and the supplier choice in public. For private-sector readers, the practical takeaway is narrower. Internal AI tools that ingest existing HR, IT and access data can produce reportable conduct findings within days, not months. The governance and disclosure questions that flow from that — including how staff are informed and how findings are reviewed — are now live for any organisation with a similar data estate.