The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | March 2024
Continued from previous page Similar to the Miller Center , San Mateo ( California ) County ’ s Sheriff ’ s Office established a panel from across the community to usher in the use of AI . Undersheriff Chris Hsiung emphasizes that it is critical to involve the public in the process for education , buy-in , and accountability . San Mateo assembled a group of attorneys , civil rights advocates , ethicists , technologists and others to establish and communicate , and use policies and procedures .
Other efforts are addressing the responsible use of AI . For one , the Law Commission of Ontario ( Canada ) Criminal AI Lifestyle Project seeks to explore how AI will affect the country ’ s criminal justice system , particularly on access to justice , due process , human rights and civil liberties .
Current and Potential Uses of AI in Policing The following use cases , trials and tests represent a snapshot of current and potentially promising applications of AI around the world . They include bodycam footage analysis , report writing , data integration and investigations assistance .
Bodycam footage analysis When body-worn cameras first came on the scene , the technology was promised to hold police accountable , document encounters with the public , collect evidence and facilitate incident review . However , only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions of hours of bodycam footage captured by police is ever reviewed .
Law enforcement agencies in states such as California , New Jersey , New York and Michigan are using such software to review petabytes of bodycam data .
“ You need an hour-plus human time to review every hour of footage ,” explains Ian Adams , an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina , whose team is running two randomized control trials on technology that uses machine learning and AI to audit body-worn camera video .
The technology doesn ’ t actually process the footage , though , Adams says . Instead , it examines audio transcripts of filmed encounters to identify activity of interest , such as use of profanity , force , insults , or threats . The process includes a human in the loop , notes Adams . “ The technology creates markers and asks supervisors questions , such as “ Was this an arrest ?” The supervisor answers ‘ yes ,’ ‘ no ,’ or that the transcript is mistaken .”
This can promote public accountability . For example , a citizens group might complain that officers use excessive profanity . The technology can identify moments that indicate possible profanity and mark them for a supervisor to review . “ The supervisors can then address questions such as ‘ Is it profanity ?’ ‘ If so , is the use within policy limits ?’ ‘ Was the profanity part of a rap song in the background ?’”
For now , AI isn ’ t advanced enough to audit the actual video , says Adams . “ Today it ’ s in the too-hard bucket , but not impossible . A few years ago , it was impossible .”
Report Writing Another popular application for AI in law enforcement is assisting in writing accurate reports . Jonathan Parham , former Chief of Police of Linden , New Jersey , and now city manager for Rahway in the same state , has leaned on AI in both roles .
In his experience , AI is a godsend because the quality of police writing has worsened . As police departments have lost staff due to budget cuts and retirements , inexperienced officers with undeveloped writing skills are writing most criminal reports .
Common errors include inconsistent use of terminology , insufficient or missing detail such as license plate numbers , spelling errors , inadequate legal justification and conclusory statements .
“ They don ’ t make it to the judge when they ’ re garbage ,” Parham says . “ You will lose cases , get plea deals and get cases thrown out . Good reports help prosecutors prosecute ."
AI probes for the types of issues Parham describes . “ The AI agent asks questions , collates information and provides a comprehensive narrative ,” Parham says . Linden police and Rahway officials tailor the AI for their specific pur-
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