LONDON, Aug 21: The UK government announced a new initiative recently to develop artificial intelligence technology aimed at predicting and preventing crime, officials said.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the project will create an interactive crime map covering England and Wales, using data from police, councils, and social services to identify areas at risk and detect early signs of anti-social behaviour.

The initiative, known as the Concentrations of Crime Data Challenge, will bring together teams from business, universities, and other sectors to develop the system. The government aims to have a fully operational system in place by 2030, under the £500 million ($680 million) R&D Missions Accelerator Programme. An initial investment of £4 million ($8 million) will fund prototype delivery by April 2026.

The technology will target crimes that affect public safety, including theft, anti-social behaviour, knife crime, and violent crime. Officials said the goal is to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls over the next decade.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said the project is intended to give police intelligence to prevent crimes rather than respond after incidents occur. “Criminals hell-bent on making others’ lives a misery face being stopped before they can strike through cutting-edge mapping technology supported by AI,” Kyle said.

The interactive map will integrate criminal records, prior incident locations, and behavioural patterns of offenders to identify crime concentrations, allowing law enforcement to deploy resources more effectively and prevent future incidents.

Minister for Policing and Crime Prevention Dame Diana Johnson said the project complements existing measures, including live facial recognition vans and the Safer Streets Initiative, aimed at reducing town centre crime.

The Concentrations of Crime Data Challenge is part of a broader government plan to use AI and technology to prevent crime. The programme builds on previous Home Office work mapping knife crime hotspots and is aligned with the recruitment of 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs, and special constables to neighbourhood policing roles.

Officials emphasized that prototypes delivered by April 2026 will form a foundation for the Safer Streets Mission, part of the government’s Plan for Change, which aims to halve knife crime and violence against women and girls within a decade.