AI is Set to Revolutionize Policing : Are We Ready ?
Exploring AI ’ s transformative role in policing worldwide , from Dubai ’ s self-driving patrol cars to the UK ’ s digital fingerprinting , and the ethical challenges involved
By Michael Gips and Paul Goldenberg
Police ranks are depleted . Tenured officers have left in droves . Qualified recruits are hard to come by . Budgets are slashed . Criminals have gone high tech . Can artificial intelligence and other cutting – edge technologies fill the void ?
Consider the following .
In Chihuahua , Mexico , a massive tower pulls in feeds from thousands of cameras , biometric sensors , license plate readers , drones and other sensors from infrastructure throughout the region .
In the United Kingdom , a new digital-fingerprint-matching system will allow law enforcement to identify suspects in real time from mere traces of their fingerprints .
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2024
Europol ’ s Innovation Lab is using artificial intelligence ( AI ) to process massive amounts of data to identify trends and patterns , as well as leveraging tools such as ChatGPT to act as investigative assistants .
Belgian police have developed a platform that allows investigators to cross reference more than 50 separate internal databases and yield results in seconds . New Jersey has used a seminal approach to dramatically curtail gun crime .
In Singapore , AI tools help investigators cull potentially obscene materials from seized electronic devices .
Last October , Dubai Police exhibited self-driving patrol cars with 360-degree cameras , license plate readers , an onboard drone and facial recognition technology that will patrol residential neighborhoods .
Other departments and agencies leverage AI to audit bodycam footage , standardize report writing , analyze DNA , extract images from video , detect evidence in crime scene photos and much more .
And now , working with academic and organizational partners Staffordshire University , Swedish Defense College , Professional Development Institute of the University of Ottawa and the Global Consortium of Law Enforcement Training Executives , the Rutgers University Miller Center on Policing and Community Resilience is developing a center of excellence dedicated to the responsible , effective and innovative use of AI .
This article highlights some of the most promising current and potential deployments of AI in global law enforcement .
Education and Policy Before law enforcement deploys AI , it is critical to educate the public and create policy and procedures to ensure fair , equitable and constitutional use of the technology . The Rutgers Miller Center initiative will address that very issue .
“ It ’ s crucial to develop and implement sound policies grounded in the laws of privacy and evidence ,” says Jack Donohue , a Miller Center Senior Fellow and former NYPD chief . “ Most important , it ’ s essential to keep a human in the loop who has training and knowledge and set the guardrails for constitutional use of these emerging technologies .”
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