Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just powering smartphones, offices, or research labs—it is now finding its way into the fight against crime. The UK government has announced plans to develop an AI-driven crime prediction system that aims to forecast offences before they take place and give law enforcement the tools to intervene early.

The ambitious project will use advanced data analytics and interactive mapping to create a real-time crime map across England and Wales. Unlike traditional crime maps, which simply log incidents after they occur, this system will attempt to highlight where crimes are most likely to happen in the future, allowing police officers to act proactively.

According to the government’s announcement, the AI map will focus on high-impact offences such as knife crime, violent assaults, theft, and anti-social behaviour. It will work by pooling data from multiple sources—including police records, social services, and local councils—to build predictive models based on past incidents, behavioural patterns of repeat offenders, and environmental factors. The goal is to identify “hotspots” before situations escalate into serious threats.

“As part of our Plan for Change, we are investing in AI and other innovations that will help us be smarter on crime, staying ahead of the curve and prevent it from happening in the first place,” said Dame Diana Johnson, Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, in the official statement.

The project is part of the government’s £500 million R&D Missions Accelerator Programme, with £4 million already committed for early development. Teams from universities, businesses, and technology partners are expected to deliver working prototypes by April 2026, with full deployment projected for 2030.

This initiative builds upon previous Home Office strategies, including hotspot-mapping for knife crime and the Safer Streets Initiative, which targeted crime in urban centres. However, the new system promises a far more sophisticated and forward-looking approach by applying machine learning to anticipate risk in real time.

Globally, the idea of predictive policing is not new—but results have been mixed. In the United States, several experiments, including those trialled in Los Angeles and Chicago, faced backlash for racial bias and poor accuracy, leading to their eventual discontinuation. One high-profile example, Geolitica (formerly known as PredPol), was abandoned in 2020 after failing to deliver reliable results.

On the other hand, Europe has seen more encouraging outcomes. The Netherlands’ Crime Anticipation System (CAS) has been credited with reducing burglary rates, while Danish police have leveraged AI tools to investigate fraud more effectively.

The UK government hopes its new crime map will learn from past mistakes and deliver a system that is both accurate and ethical. If successful, it could become one of the most significant applications of AI in public safety, reshaping how law enforcement approaches crime prevention.

By 2030, the country may be witnessing a new era of data-driven policing—one in which technology helps officers not only respond to crime but stop it before it begins.