Open Rights Group

Campaigns Safety Not Surveillance

Safety Not Surveillance

Safety Not Surveillance is a coalition of grassroots and civil society organisations working at the intersections of racial justice, migrant justice, criminal legal system accountability and tech.

About the Coalition

The coalition was established in June 2024 in response to the expansion of novel technologies being used in policing and at the border without clear legal grounds. 

These technologies amplify inequalities in society, with racialised and migrant communities disproportionately impacted.

Safety Not Surveillance campaigns for an end to ‘predictive’ policing systems and for regulation which protects people’s rights and safeguards against the harms of all other tech/AI uses in policing and immigration settings.


We also want a society where technology, surveillance and digital policing are not seen as the solution to complex social problems.

DEMAND SAFETY NOT SURVEILLANCE

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Banning ‘Predictive Policing’

The Safety Not Surveillance coalition have called on the Home Secretary to introduce safeguards against the harms of AI systems in policing, including an outright ban on predictive policing and biometric surveillance systems.

Prohibiting ‘Predictive Policing’ and Biometric Surveillance systems

‘Predictive policing’ systems which use AI, data and algorithms to identify, profile and target individuals, groups and locations, attempting to ‘predict’ certain criminal acts, or the ‘risk’ of certain criminalised acts should never be used, and should be prohibited.

Stronger regulation

All data-based, automated and AI systems in policing which are not prohibited should be regulated to protect people’s rights and safeguard against harms

Safeguards, transparency and accountability

A legislative framework creating transparency, accountability, accessibility and redress should underpin the use of all data-based, automated and AI systems in policing.

Open letter: BAN predictive policing

Safety Not Surveillance coalitions calls for safeguards against the harms of AI systems in policing.

Find out more

Coalition Partners

Safety Not Surveillance is led by Open Rights Group who plays a coordinating role in the coalition. The coalition includes organisations from across the movement ecosystem.

Coalition partner organisations include: Open Rights Group, Racial Justice Network, The 4Front Project, Hackney Account, Amnesty UK, Bristol Copwatch, No Tech for Tyrants, Runnymede Trust, Defend Digital Me, Stop-Watch, CAGE, Traveller Movement, Healing Justice London, Migrant Rights Network, Maslaha, Justice Equity Technology Table, Medact, No More Exclusions, Netpol, Statewatch, UNJUST, Prevent Watch, Big Brother Watch, Community Policy Forum, Liberty.

Safety Not Surveillance has also been supported by consultants that are non-affiliated to organisations. This includes: Emmanuelle Andrews, Griff Ferris, and Patrick Williams.

If your organisation is interested in joining Safety Not Surveillance, please contact Sara Chitseko by emailing info@openrightsgroup.org.

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The Story So Far

01 May 2025

Why ‘Predictive’ Policing Must be Banned

The UK Government is trying to use algorithms to predict which people are most likely to become killers using sensetive personal data of hundreds of thousands of people.
Read more

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