Criminals hell bent on making others’ lives a misery could face being stopped before they can strike through cutting edge mapping technology, supported by AI, to be rolled out by 2030, as announced this month by UK Government, Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle.
Innovators have been tasked with developing a detailed real time and interactive crime map that spans England and Wales and can detect, track and predict where devastating knife crime is likely to occur or spot early warning signs of anti-social behaviour before it spirals out of control – giving police the intel they need to step in and keep the public safe.
It will be rooted in advanced AI that will examine how to bring together data shared between police, councils and social services, including criminal records, previous incident locations and behavioural patterns of known offenders. The map will identify where crime is concentrating so law enforcement and partners can direct their resources as needed and help prevent further victims.
The Concentrations of Crime Data Challenge – delivered by UKRI – sets teams from business, universities and beyond a clear and measurable target of coming together to develop the solution to be operational across England and Wales by 2030 and is part of the government’s £500 million R&D Missions Accelerator Programme.
As part of an initial £4 million government investment, teams will deliver initial prototypes to enhance the mapping system by April 2026 – a crucial milestone that supports the Safer Streets Mission as part of our Plan for Change, which aims to halve knife crime and Violence Against Women and Girls within a decade.
Whilst visiting the Met Police, Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle said: “Cutting-edge technology like AI can improve our lives in so many ways, including in keeping us safe, which is why we’re putting it to work for victims over vandals, the law-abiding majority over the lawbreakers. Our police officers are at their best when they join up to prevent crime rather than react to it, and R&D can deliver crucial tools for them to stay one step ahead of potential dangers to the public and property – keeping our streets safe and delivering on our Plan for Change.”
Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention, Dame Diana Johnson, also said: “As criminal networks keep evolving with technology, so too must our response. We are giving police the tools they need to make our streets safer, and this crime map will be a powerful tool, building on the expanded rollout of live facial recognition vans we unveiled this week. 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.”
The challenge builds on existing Home Office work, including sophisticated mapping technologies targeting knife crime hotspots and the summer-long Safer Streets Initiative tackling town centre crime, taking this foundation further through enhanced research, expanded data sources and deeper analysis to better understand crime patterns and measure the impact of interventions.
The Safer Streets Mission also supports the government’s commitment to put 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles. Every neighbourhood will have a named, contactable officer dealing with local issues.
