Policing for London in the Age of AI
With the UK's largest police force and one of the world's leading AI hubs, London is where the balance between innovation, safety and public trust will be struck.
On Tuesday 21 July 2026, LSE academics joined policymakers and police leaders at London's City Hall for "Policing for London in the Age of AI" a conference convened by London Assembly Member Marina Ahmad.
It was attended by policing professionals such as Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and Chris Sykes, Assistant Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police; by academics such as Professors Pete Fussey, Suzanne Shale Marion Oswald; and by experts Alex Murray of Police.AI, Ruth Ehrlich of Liberty and Michael Birtwistle of the Ada Lovelace Institute.
The conference explored multiple perspectives on how we make AI work for policing, how we weigh capturing the potential of new technologies against the safeguards and accountability needed to protect rights, and what impact innovations like drones operating beyond-visual-line-of-sight are already having on the front line.
LSE's contribution was led by Professor Tom Kirchmaier, Director of the Policing and Crime Research Group at our Centre for Economic Performance (CEP). He was supported by colleagues including research assistant Catherine Ojo, BP Centennial Professor Jeff Grogger and Visiting Professor Emily Owens.
You can read more about work on policing at the CEP here.
Photos from the conference
