Digital redaction

Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/26/010197/V

Version Date: 31/07/2026

The Alliance Business Change Department has provided the following information:

1)         The rollout status of digital redaction in your force uses (as mentioned in the Policing Productivity Review - digital redaction of material sent to the CPS for review).
Both Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police Police are currently running a pilot of a product called Secure Redact. This is an AI-assisted redaction platform, that automatically redacts/anonymises pre-selected personal identifiable information. This pilot involves approximately 100 officers and staff. There is not currently a decision about whether this will be rolled out wider across both Forces – this will be subject to a series of governance meetings in July and September 2026 when the pilot evidence will be reviewed.

2)         The estimated number of police hours in your police force saved due to the use of technology, such as AI, to redact information.
The national audio and visual multi-media (AVMM) programme anticipates time efficiency savings for forces using high quality AVMM redaction products to be in the region of 30-60% against current working practices / technology.

At present we only have limited results from early stages of the pilot project being undertaken in Devon & Cornwall Police and Dorset Police Police. We do not have estimates of the whole force saving which may result from the use of AI to redact information. We only have very limited estimates for particular areas selected for the prilot. Therefore no information is currently held in relation to this question.