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Thames Valley Police is under growing pressure to safeguard vulnerable children and adults. Demand is rising, cases are becoming more complex, and teams must coordinate across multiple agencies, often while managing vast amounts of data. To cope, the force is using AI and automation tools supplied by Motorola Solutions to reduce administrative burden and help officers focus on decisions that require human judgement.
For Charlotte Donohoe, Head of Specialist Safeguarding Operations, Thames Valley Police, the technology is about restoring capacity rather than replacing people.
“Internally, we understand that this technology is there to reinvigorate what we were designed to do originally, not to replace humans,” she said. “It removes some of the administrative burden that has built up through process-driven work, so we can reuse human skills where they matter most.”
Fixing inconsistency in safeguarding
Historically, Thames Valley struggled with consistency and compliance in some safeguarding processes, including domestic abuse notifications.
“We were providing really poor levels of service to the public who are entitled to information to help them make safe decisions about their relationships,” Donohoe said.
Automation has since transformed that workflow. AI-supported systems can now aggregate data, carry out secondary research and summarise hundreds of incidents into usable insights, while keeping decision-making firmly with staff.
The result is less time spent manually reviewing records and more time working directly with vulnerable people.
“We’re taking the mundane off people’s plates, but keeping the human in the loop. AI is used purposefully and responsibly to automate routine, data‑intensive tasks, freeing first responders and operators to focus on complex decisions that require human judgement and empathy.”
Fergus Mayne, Vice President, Motorola Solutions.
Moving from reactive to proactive
The force is now looking to use AI to support more proactive safeguarding. Using the Cambridge Crime Harm System, Thames Valley reviews every child who comes to its attention at least once every six months.
“With more than 25,500 children under review, AI could help us aggregate information across multiple databases and pick out risk indicators,” Donohoe said. “Resources are limited, both within policing and across our partner organisations. The opportunity is using that information to make good, joint decisions about who is most at risk of serious harm.”
That capability also strengthens accountability. “AI puts us in a better position to defend the decisions we make around inquiry or intervention,” she added. “It helps us improve outcomes for victims while being clear about why decisions were taken.”
Joined-up information at the point of contact
Motorola Solutions’ technology integrates across Thames Valley’s safeguarding systems, starting at the first point of contact.
“Call Assist automatically checks incoming 999 calls against historical records,” Mayne explained. “If a vulnerable person has called multiple times, that information is flagged immediately. Officers in the field can access relevant data through the Pronto app, and body-worn video captures evidence. It’s joined up, which helps officers act quickly and with context.”
Similar technology is already being used elsewhere. In Lancashire Police, AI was able to process 60 hours of video footage in around 30 minutes. “Officers manually identified around 80 to 95 per cent of cases, but AI picked out more, more quickly,” Mayne said. “The challenge is turning huge volumes of data into intelligence fast enough for frontline action.”
Human judgement remains central
Both Thames Valley Police and Motorola Solutions stress that AI does not replace professional judgement. “The human element is still interpreting the information,” Donohoe said. “The difference is that staff can spend their time safeguarding victims rather than doing administrative work. We can support more people, more quickly, without losing the human decision-making at the centre.”
Mayne pointed to Motorola’s ethical frameworks and oversight processes. “When AI automates tasks, a human still verifies the findings and applies context,” he said. “Human-in-the-loop oversight is built in, and frontline users can flag changes in policy or legislation that need to be reflected in the system.”
A model other forces are watching
The combination of AI, automation and professional oversight is helping Thames Valley Police respond to growing safeguarding demand more effectively. The force’s approach is now being watched by others across the UK. For Donohoe, the value lies in creating space for better professional challenge.
“AI gives us more opportunity to be professionally curious about the work that can’t be automated, and to challenge one another across multi-agency partnerships,” she said.
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