West Midlands Police have stopped using Microsoft’s artificial intelligence tool Copilot “until further notice” over concerns about “AI hallucinations,” the force’s acting Chief Constable Scott Green has told a scrutiny meeting.
Questioned by the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, Green also revealed that “bespoke training” would be rolled out across the force following the community unrest caused by the decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans from attending a football match against Aston Villa in November.
Green – who took on the role after Craig Guildford retired earlier this month in the face of intense pressure to resign – said he declared the situation a “critical incident” on his first day in office, and told the meeting he had ordered the immediate suspension of Microsoft Copilot across WMP.
The decision, he said, was taken to avoid so-called “AI hallucinations”, whereby AI tools produce false or misleading information.
Prior to his retirement, Guildford was forced to admit to MPs that WMP used AI in a report they produced that helped to justify the ban and that referenced a non-existent fixture between Maccabi Tel Aviv and West Ham. He had initially denied when questioned by MPs that this error was a result of an AI hallucination before later saying this was correct and apologising.
Green said he could not comment on the use of AI in greater detail because the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the force.
“In relation to the referral that we made to the IOPC on my first day in office, we were very specific about how AI was being used.”
He said the force would be using AI “in the future,” but added, "We are not going to do so [use AI] until I am satisfied with the conclusion of what has happened in this case and until we have got guidelines in place.”
“The starting point was to stop the use of AI and turn Copilot off until we have clarity and greater governance and oversight over it.”
Green said his priority now is to “restore public trust”.
In his opening statement, Green acknowledged the force had lost public confidence over the affair.
When questioned by Foster, he said WMP’s relationship with the local Jewish community had been “significantly damaged,” and paid tribute to the “bravery” of those who had shared their feelings with him about the ban.
He added that the force’s engagement with the Jewish community “should have been better and should have taken place earlier,” and said an equality impact assessment should have been completed.
Asked about a finding from His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) that there had been “confirmation bias” in the police decision-making, Green accepted the assessment.
He added that “a more detailed equality assessment... would allow us to challenge each other where this might take place.”
Green also said the link between public order policing and intelligence “is not where we want it to be,” adding that he wanted “better local engagement from the outset with actually our local Jewish community but also with a broader range of stakeholders.”
And he told the meeting the force would carry out “bespoke training for all of our workforce on antisemitism,” describing this as “a gap for our organisation”.
Also in the meeting, Green said WMP should have consulted other teams, cities and nations where Maccabi Tel Aviv had previously played.
The force should have spoken to counterparts in Israel to “get a broader assessment of the club, its fan base, and those that may or may not have been involved in disorder,” Green said.
Asked about intelligence suggesting that some locals were planning to “arm” themselves for the Maccabi Tel Aviv game, Green said he could not discuss this because of the ongoing Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation.
He added that it would be “unwise and inappropriate” to comment further, saying this could risk prejudicing the independence of the IPC investigation.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.