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Met Police Chief Suspended After Palantir AI Flags Sexual Content on Work Phone

The case raises questions about the force’s use of automated monitoring for staff discipline.

Overview

  • Special Chief Officer James Deller was suspended after an AI alert flagged sexual content on a Met-issued work phone, the force said Monday.
  • The Met ran Palantir’s monitoring software over about a week last month and the system generated referrals for more than 100 officers that triggered a dedicated internal probe called Operation Artificial.
  • The force said Deller has not been arrested and there are no criminal allegations against him because the matter is being dealt with as a disciplinary case.
  • Other referrals from the run have led to a range of allegations including fraud and sexual assault, and two officers have been arrested on separate unspecified charges.
  • The Met paid about £487,000 to deploy the Palantir tool and the episode has prompted fresh scrutiny of procurement choices and vendor ethics, with London’s mayor raising concerns and Palantir disputing the criticism.