East Midlands police unit drops Palantir after a two-year trial

The East Midlands Special Operations Unit will not renew its Palantir software contract after a two-year trial. The serious-crime unit assessed the project’s expected benefits and future funding before deciding against continuing, the BBC reported. Its exit also requires Palantir to demonstrate that police-system connections and retained data have been removed.

A trial built around crime investigations

Known as Emsou, the unit investigates serious and organised crime across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire. Its work includes murder, terrorism offences and drug trafficking. The pilot began in October 2024 and used data from Leicestershire Police in Palantir Foundry.

Foundry uses artificial intelligence and machine learning. Palantir’s technology allows large datasets to be searched and analysed. Emsou’s stated purpose was to test whether the software could support crime investigations without compromising ethics or accountability—not simply whether it could process police information.

Regional Assistant Chief Constable Ian Green said the trial included strict checks, balances and independent review. He described its aim as serving the public interest while maintaining high standards of accountability and ethics. The decision not to renew followed the end of its Home Office funding.

Following the scoping work and assessment of what it would deliver, including our future funding streams, we have taken the decision not to take the project further.

Ian Green, regional assistant chief constable, speaking to the BBC

The assessment remains largely private

Green’s explanation ties the decision to expected delivery and available funding. He also said Emsou would continue exploring new technology to target serious organised crime in the region and beyond. Ending this project is therefore not a stated withdrawal from technology trials more generally.

Emsou declined to disclose exactly how it used Foundry during the pilot. It withheld the specific datasets and sources on operational-security grounds, and the cost on grounds of commercial confidentiality. Those disclosure limits leave the public without the detailed inputs or price needed to assess the trial’s value.

An exit that requires proof

The remaining requirement goes beyond declining another contract. Emsou told the BBC that Palantir must demonstrate it has cut all links with the force’s systems and deleted all of its data. That is a requirement for the vendor to satisfy, not confirmation that disconnection and deletion have already been completed.