Europol Publishes Framework on Ethical Use of New Technology in Law Enforcement
Europol released a new framework this week to help law enforcement make ethical decisions about incorporating new technologies into the course of its work.
The framework is part of the report, Assessing Technologies in Law Enforcement: A Method for Ethical Decision-Making. It is designed to provide law enforcement with a structured approach to evaluate new technology while maintaining public trust and upholding fundamental rights.
“Developed by the Strategic Group on Technology and Ethics under the European Clearing Board, with support from Europol’s Innovation Lab, the report sets out a seven-step ethical assessment method to help law enforcement navigate the challenges of digital transformation,” Europol said in a press release. “It aims to ensure that the adoption and use of new technologies align with core values such as transparency, fairness, privacy, and accountability.”
The European Clearing Board for Tools, Methods, and Innovations in the field of technical support of operations and investigations (EuCB) founded the strategic group in 2021. The group consists of representatives from Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
One of the representatives of the group and a lead author of the report presented the framework at the Fundamental Rights at the Heart of Policing Conference 2025 held at Europol’s headquarters from 20 to 21 February.
Europol said the publication is intended to be a “living document,” which will be regularly updated with new use cases and ethical considerations for law enforcement as technology evolves. In its current form, the report uses video analytics, artificial intelligence risk assessments, open-source data scraping, chatbots, and automated analysis of datasets as initial case study technologies.
“By promoting a structured ethical framework, Europol aims to increase public confidence in law enforcement’s use of technology, ensuring that innovation in policing remains aligned with societal values and legal safeguards,” Europol said.
What are the Framework Steps?
The goal of the framework is to help law enforcement align its use of technology with Europe’s central values. It consists of seven steps that are designed to support law enforcement with making “ethically robust decisions about using innovative technology,” according to the report.
Step one: Describe the moral problem at the center. This includes listing conflicting concerns, describing potential feelings of discomfort around a technology use case, or listing points raised in public debate—such as “facial recognition is violating basic human rights.”
Step two: List the relevant facts about the case, including technology available and how it might be applied to it. The framework also suggests identifying types of information that could be used to clarify the case, increase awareness, and highlight blind spots in perceptions of the situation.
Step three: List the parties affected by the technology (likely victims, offenders, witnesses, next of kin, law enforcement, and the public) and their viewpoints.
“The viewpoints of the parties are based on communication, observation, or, if necessary, educated guesses,” the report explained. “Making explicit reasonable assumptions may improve the situational awareness, reveal misconceptions, and prove valuable for enhancing transparency.”
Step four: Identify the normative values that matter to the case. The Europol report explained this step as setting out a general “moral point of view” and asking what values an impartial spectator would emphasize in the case at hand.
“Values often listed in connection with emerging technology are transparency, fairness, privacy, and accountability,” according to the report. “Others include honesty, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, social justice, etc.”
There are instances where law enforcement may not want to disclose everything about its technological capabilities. But overall, Europol recommends law enforcement agencies be as “as open as possible about actions, practices, and technology. That is, reasons must be given for not being transparent, not vice versa.”
Step five: Formulate value-based solutions. Using the information from the previous steps, law enforcement should ask if it can justify the use of technology in question for that particular case.
“If a suggested intervention expresses the set of values in an acceptable manner, the suggestion qualifies as ‘value-based,’” the report said.
Step six: Assess the solutions and justification of choice. In this step, law enforcement should consider the rightness and consequences of technology use.
Europol suggests asking the following four questions to determine rightness:
- Consistency: Is the use of the technology always appropriate under similar conditions?
- Dignity: Does the use of the technology imply that law enforcement agencies use their professional authority in the best interest of people, not just as a means to fulfil other goals?
- Public acceptance: Is the use of the technology acceptable to the public if it becomes generally known?
- Accountability: Do the necessary competencies and resources exist to take responsibility for the use of the technology?
If the answer to any of the above questions is no, Europol recommends rejecting or modifying the use of the technology for that case. If the answer to the above questions is in the affirmative, though, Europol suggests listing out the estimated consequences of using the technology—both short-term and long-term consequences. Taking this step can help law enforcement weigh how a technology will affect the parties involved and any potential biases.
Step seven: Summarize the process used above to ensure coherence and consistency for choices made when using new technology.
Taking this step helps explain the reasoning behind whether a technology was used for a law enforcement action. It also allows law enforcement officers to discuss disagreements without focusing on personal preferences or character.
“The aim is thus discursive rather than decisive, and following the steps outlined above should increase the insight and understanding of the participating law enforcement officers,” according to the report.
Technology and Law Enforcement
Europol has been a leader in studying how the evolution of technology is both helping, and potentially hindering, law enforcement.
“Technological advancements have had a profound impact on crime,” Europol’s Innovation Lab said in a press release earlier this month to mark its fifth anniversary. “Criminals are quick to integrate new technologies into their operations, creating novel business models and refining their tactics. At the same time, these advancements offer unprecedented opportunities for law enforcement to enhance their capabilities.”
Some of those opportunities include using artificial intelligence to write police reports, facial recognition to identify known wanted individuals, and video analytics to alert security practitioners or law enforcement to suspicious individuals. As these technologies evolve, Europol has highlighted the need for law enforcement to use them in a way that respects Europeans' fundamental rights.
“Fundamental rights are the bedrock of effective law enforcement,” said Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle at the Fundamental Rights at the Heart of Policing conference. “Trust is its cornerstone—yet it is fragile. Protecting fundamental rights, including data protection, is at the heart of Europol’s mission. Together with national authorities, we must ensure transparency, fairness, and accountability—to safeguard the integrity of law enforcement in Europe and to preserve the trust between police forces and the communities we serve.”
