The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that England and Wales’s 43 police forces risk falling behind in the face of mounting financial and operational pressures unless the Home Office drives faster progress on digital transformation, data use and technology standardisation.
In its latest report, Police Productivity, the NAO concludes that patchy adoption of digital tools, inconsistent data, and a lack of shared systems have hindered efficiency gains and left the policing system reliant on short-term fixes rather than sustainable reform. Despite a decade of reform efforts, the watchdog says the Home Office work “has not led to sustainable long-term change” across forces.
The report notes that with 77% of police budgets tied up in staff pay, that leaves limited flexibility for investment in technology or modernisation. Meanwhile, funding for productivity and new tech projects has been cut from £105 million in 2024–25 to £50 million in 2025–26, despite the government’s stated ambition to use innovation to boost frontline capacity.
“The Home Office has not yet established an approach to measuring police productivity,” the NAO said. “The adoption of new digital technologies is critical to improving the productivity of policing.”
The audit highlights persistent barriers - including outdated procurement practices, incompatible IT systems and a lack of national standards - that prevent forces from sharing innovations or scaling up proven tools. It points to examples of individual forces using AI and data analytics to triage emergency calls, prioritise incidents or identify repeat offenders, but notes that these initiatives have not been replicated nationally due to fragmented governance and short-term funding cycles.
The NAO says upcoming police reforms, including plans for a new National Centre of Policing, offer a chance to coordinate digital innovation and accelerate adoption of new technologies. It urges the Home Office to develop a diagnostic tool for all forces by 2026–27 to help identify opportunities for automation, data integration and demand management.
The report calls for stronger central leadership from the Home Office, including consistent performance data, standard definitions of productivity and longer-term investment in technology and digital skills. It also recommends an audit of digital and AI capability gaps across all 43 forces.