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Police forces are being asked to modernise, improve outcomes and make better use of increasingly complex data, all while working within tight resources and growing demands. For Ben Jarvis, CTO at Telefónica Tech UK&I, the answer is not simply about introducing more AI. It’s about using technology to solve real operational challenges and giving officers the information they need to make better decisions.
From predictive policing and AI-supported Clare’s Law processes to digital forensics, cyber security and cloud, Telefónica Tech is exploring how these capabilities can work together to support police reform. Ahead of The Emergency Tech Show 2026, Ben explains where he sees the biggest opportunities for forces, why strong data foundations and governance are essential, and what practical steps policing can take now rather than waiting for another major transformation programme.
How can data and AI help support the next phase of police reform?
The opportunity for policing isn’t simply to introduce more AI. It’s to use data and technology to help forces deliver the outcomes that police reform is asking for.
Forces already hold enormous amounts of information, but it can sit across different systems, teams and formats. Bringing that data together securely and making it easier to use can give officers and leaders a much clearer picture of demand, risk and where resources can have the greatest impact.
That’s where AI becomes particularly valuable. It can help identify patterns earlier, prioritise demand, support prevention and safeguarding, and give officers better information when making decisions. But we also have to recognise the environment policing operates in. Any use of AI needs appropriate governance, transparency and human oversight. Decisions have to be explainable, and technology has to stand up to scrutiny.
For me, the next phase of police reform is therefore as much about getting the data foundations and governance right as it is about AI itself. If forces do that, they can start delivering practical improvements now rather than waiting for another large-scale transformation programme.
What practical policing use cases is Telefónica Tech showcasing, including predictive policing and Clare’s Law?
One thing we’ve been very focused on is moving the conversation away from what AI could theoretically do and showing forces what they can actually do with it today.
Predictive policing is a good example. We’re looking at how historical and current data can be used to identify patterns in demand and risk, helping forces understand where incidents may be more likely and supporting more informed decisions about prevention and resource allocation.
Importantly, this isn’t about an algorithm replacing police judgement or making decisions about individuals. It’s about giving officers and analysts another source of insight to support human decision-making.
Our work around Clare’s Law takes that same practical approach to safeguarding. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme can involve officers reviewing significant volumes of information across different records and systems. We’re exploring how AI can help bring relevant information together and support that review process, reducing some of the administrative burden while keeping officers firmly in control of the decision.
These are the kinds of use cases we’re interested in because they’re attached to genuine operational problems aligned to police reform. Rather than starting with AI and looking for somewhere to use it, we start with the policing challenge and ask where data and AI can make a measurable difference.
Where are the biggest opportunities for forces to use technology more effectively?
I think one of the biggest opportunities is connecting capabilities that have traditionally been considered separately. Policing generates huge volumes of data, from operational systems and intelligence through to digital evidence. The challenge isn’t necessarily collecting more of it. It’s being able to bring the right information together, securely, and turn it into something useful quickly enough to support operational decisions.
AI can help forces identify patterns, understand demand and surface information that might otherwise take significant manual effort to find. Digital forensics can help teams deal with the growing scale and complexity of digital evidence, while cloud platforms can provide the foundations needed to process and analyse that information at scale.
There is also a major productivity opportunity. Officers and staff spend significant amounts of time on administrative and information-heavy processes. Used appropriately, AI can reduce some of that burden and give people more time to focus on the work where their expertise and judgement really matter.
The forces that make the most progress won’t necessarily be those deploying the most technology. They’ll be the ones that connect their data, cloud, cyber and AI strategies around clearly defined operational outcomes.
How can cloud, cyber security, digital forensics and data work together to tackle policing challenges?
That’s really important because these challenges don’t exist in isolation. If you want to introduce intelligent analytics or AI, for example, you need the right data foundations underneath it. That data needs to sit within a secure and resilient environment and forces need confidence around governance, access and how information is being used.
At the same time, the volume of digital evidence continues to grow, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and forces are under pressure to improve productivity and deliver better outcomes with finite resources.
Our strength at Telefónica Tech is that we can bring those capabilities together. We work across cloud, cyber security, digital forensics, data and AI, so rather than treating each as a separate technology project, we can look at the operational challenge as a whole.
That could mean creating the secure cloud and data foundations that allow a force to use information more effectively, protecting those environments through cyber security, supporting investigations through digital forensics, and then applying analytics and AI where they can improve decision-making or reduce manual effort.
Ultimately, technology should make policing simpler and more effective, not introduce another layer of complexity.
What can visitors expect from Telefónica Tech on the Microsoft Partner Pavilion?
I’d like visitors to come away with a much clearer idea of what they can start doing now. There’s understandably a lot of discussion about the future of AI and policing, but forces don’t need to wait for some future transformation programme before they can begin improving how they use their data.
On the Microsoft Partner Pavilion, we’ll be showing practical examples of what that can look like, including our predictive policing and Clare’s Law work, and talking about how secure cloud, data, AI, cyber security and digital forensics can come together to support wider police reform.
More importantly, we want to have conversations about the individual challenges forces are facing. Every force has different priorities, different levels of data maturity and different operational pressures, so the starting point won’t always be the same.
If visitors leave with one message, I’d like it to be that police reform doesn’t have to begin with a huge transformation programme. There are targeted use cases where forces can start demonstrating value now, learn from them and build from there, while maintaining the governance, transparency and public trust that policing requires.
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Meet Telefónica Tech at the Microsoft Partner Pavilion throughout The Emergency Tech Show on 16-17 September at NEC, Birmingham. Register for your free ticket here.
