We asked if police forces had sufficient funding to improve their IT systems,71 particularly given the financial pressures they are facing, which has led them to increase borrowing to fund capital programmes.72 Forces also spend around 80% of their funding on officer and staff pay, which means they have limited flexibility to make capital investments, support transformation or invest in new technology.73 The Home Office reduced funding for programmes to improve productivity and roll-out new technologies, from £105 million in 2024–25 to £50 million in 2025–26.74 It told us that funding is constrained, and it does not determine how much money goes into innovation. Within these constraints, the Home Office said it is seeking to focus on initiatives that could deliver the best outcomes, pointing to its funding for facial recognition technology.75