United KingdomPublic sector2025 – ongoingWest Midlands Police
Copilot-generated football-policing intelligence
Parliament found false Copilot claims entered West Midlands Police's football-risk evidence
Problem
West Midlands Police needed evidence to assess risks around Maccabi Tel Aviv's visit to Aston Villa. Its advice informed a decision to exclude away fans.
Approach
Officers used Microsoft Copilot to gather information about football disorder. Senior officers repeated inaccurate outputs in safety-advisory meetings and parliamentary evidence. The Home Affairs Committee later found failures of basic due diligence.
Results
No published figures
Takeaway
Generated claims passed into official evidence without adequate checking. The committee reported evidence suggesting that Copilot use was unauthorized and initially undisclosed to senior officers.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Internal work and knowledge managementProduction and quality
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AI
- Adoption
- Off-the-shelf tool or platform
- Goal
- Quality and risk
- Evidence
- Regulator, audit or court
Sources
Source summaries
The committee found that inaccurate AI-generated information entered police advice and parliamentary testimony. It documented a subsequent correction about a nonexistent West Ham match and criticized the force's verification practices.
Full details are in the original sources.