Tech companies including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Palantir proposed a range of futuristic—and controversial—ideas for managing UK offenders at a closed-door meeting with the justice secretary, it has emerged.
According to minutes seen by The Guardian, representatives from over two dozen technology firms met with Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Prisons Minister James Timpson in London last month. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is seeking “innovative” ways to address the crisis of overcrowded prisons and stretched probation services. One radical idea raised was the use of subcutaneous implants to track offenders in real time.
Other suggestions included using robots to manage prisoners, AI-powered rehabilitation assistants, and autonomous vehicles to transport inmates. Ministers framed the discussion as exploring what a “digital, data and technology-enabled justice system” might look like by 2050.
Mahmood reportedly told companies she wants “deeper collaboration between government and tech to solve the prison capacity crisis” and “scale and improve” offender tagging technologies to promote rehabilitation. The MoJ later said the session was intended to foster dialogue and not policy-setting.
Tech firms also floated the use of high-powered quantum computers to predict future criminal behaviour and automate sentencing calculations within the strained probation service. However, some at the meeting warned of “dystopian outcomes” if such tools were misapplied.
The meeting, hosted by the tech lobby group Tech UK, included representatives from IBM, Serco and tagging and biometric firms alongside major Silicon Valley players. Another session, dubbed an “innovation den”, is planned this week, where ministers will hear 20-minute pitches from technology companies.
Human rights groups expressed alarm at the proposals. “It is chilling to know that justice ministers have sat with the tech sector to discuss using robots to manage prisoners, implanting devices under people’s skin to track their behaviour, or using computers to ‘predict’ what they will do in future,” said Donald Campbell, director of advocacy at Foxglove, the non-profit that uncovered the meeting through a Freedom of Information request.
He added: “The idea that tech companies can produce tools to ‘predict’ crime has been discredited time and again – it is disappointing to see the MoJ so willing to listen.”
Mahmood has previously expressed openness to biometric surveillance tools, including gait recognition, which analyses people’s movement patterns to anticipate behaviour.
An MoJ spokesperson said: “As the public would rightly expect, we continue to explore technology that will help us cut crime, effectively monitor offenders and keep the public safe.”
Tech UK defended the initiative, saying it was part of efforts to “create a fairer, better and more effective justice system” and stressed that “transparency, accountability and public trust” must underpin any future use of technology.
Major tech companies involved—including Google, Amazon, Microsoft, IBM and Palantir—declined to comment on their involvement. Serco, which also attended the meeting, said: “We will not be commenting on this activity.”
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