Jun 17, 2025
British police forces have begun adopting an AI platform known as “Nectar,” developed in partnership with U.S. tech firm Palantir Technologies. Designed to merge roughly 80 data streams—including sensitive details such as race, health, religion, political views, sexuality, and union membership—the system aims to build comprehensive profiles of suspects, victims, and vulnerable individuals to support ongoing investigations. A leaked memo from Bedfordshire Police reveals intentions to move the platform beyond its pilot phase and expand its reach nationally, citing potential benefits for crime prevention and early intervention in cases involving at-risk groups like children. The project is part of a larger government trend toward integrating AI into public sectors like healthcare and defense through private partnerships.
However, the rollout of Nectar has ignited serious concerns among civil liberties advocates, lawmakers, and privacy experts. The system accesses eleven categories of highly sensitive personal information and, while developers insist it only organizes data already collected by police, critics warn of unchecked data retention, profiling risks, and lack of accountability. Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis has called for urgent parliamentary oversight, cautioning against what he describes as “zero oversight” of sweeping surveillance powers. Although Palantir and Bedfordshire Police maintain that the tool neither enables predictive policing nor expands data collection, campaigners argue that the potential for mass surveillance is real. With no national deployment yet approved, the pilot’s results will influence whether this AI-driven model becomes a standard feature of British policing, raising pressing questions about transparency, governance, and civil rights.
Stay Awake. Keep Watch.
SOURCE: Reclaim the Net