UK police trial AI system to support frontline officers with procedural advice
Humberside Police in the UK has released results from a trial of an AI assistant designed to guide officers in the field, suggesting that it could save more than 23,000 officer hours per year. The “Project Moriarty” pilot with Coeus Software looked into how British police forces could use AI to boost efficiency and consistency.
AI is inevitably finding its way into frontline policing, as it is in other professions, and the results from the Humberside Police trial show both its promise and its limits.
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Project Moriarty tested “Cecil,” a conversational AI assistant built into the PoliceBox mobile platform, which provides officers with verified guidance based on official policies, procedures, and legislation. Unlike open systems trained on public data, Cecil only draws from vetted internal materials.
The AI assistant takes its name from Chief Constable Cecil Charles Hudson Moriarty OBE, a policing pioneer in the 1920s who somewhat unfortunately shared his surname with Sherlock Holmes’ infamous adversary.
Modern policing
The UK’s policing workforce is younger and less experienced than it was a decade ago. As of early 2024, more than a third of officers had fewer than five years of service, compared with just 14 percent in 2016. Many of those leaving the profession also fall within that same group.
The AI assistant can provide officers immediate answers to procedural questions while they remain in the community, rather than relying on lengthy manual searches or waiting for specialist advice. For a police force facing staff shortages and an influx of less experienced recruits, that kind of instant guidance could help reduce errors.
According to the trial results, Cecil scored highly for accuracy, relevance, and ease of use. In many cases, responses arrived in under seven seconds.
Extrapolated data suggest that if every procedural query was handled via Cecil, the police force could save over 23,000 officer hours annually, effectively putting several full-time officers back on the street. Or, as is the obvious risk, slim down the number of offices employed by the service.
Simon Hall, CEO of Coeus Software, said, “The Project Moriarty trial with Humberside Police showed how the Cecil AI assistant can deliver real-time guidance to officers in the field. When combined with the power of PoliceBox to digitize frontline policing, it has the potential to transform efficiency and enhance community engagement, exactly in line with the Home Office mission to keep officers in communities, equipped with the right tools and information.”
There are clear benefits, but also questions. AI can support consistency, but overreliance on machine-generated answers could risk narrowing decision-making or reducing on-the-ground judgment. The Humberside project demonstrates how police forces might use AI responsibly to reinforce officers’ intuition.
“The original Chief Constable Moriarty helped define policing professionalism and procedural discipline. Our ‘Cecil’ continues that legacy for the digital age, a modern assistant helping officers make confident, consistent decisions wherever they are,” Hall added.
Colin Dring, Innovation Manager at Humberside Police, agreed, saying, “Project Moriarty has shown how AI can enhance officer confidence and consistency in real time. By placing guidance directly in officers’ hands, we’re helping them make better decisions for the communities they serve.”
While this trial took place in the UK, it reflects a direction other law enforcement agencies worldwide are looking to follow as they balance efficiency with accountability in adopting AI tools.
What do you think about police forces using AI assistants like Cecil in the field? Let us know in the comments.