“Police use AI to draft reports in at least one Maryland county”

The Baltimore Sun reports that “Police use AI to draft reports in at least one Maryland county.”  The November 17th article by Josh Davis and Luke Parker states that the Wicomico County Sheriff’s office is using artificial intelligence to boost efficiency.

This AI service, known as Draft One, links to body cameras. The program then transcribes audio captured by the cameras after an incident, allowing the deputy to review the transcript instead of typing it from scratch. Developed by Axon, more than 20 departments nationwide have acknowledged using or testing the technology, including departments in Colorado, Indiana, California, Florida, Oklahoma and Arizona.

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[T]he service takes the audio interaction from body camera footage and puts it into a paragraph format that can easily be inserted into police reports. It can also take dictation from interviews with a suspect or from interactions between deputies at a crime scene.

Several sections of the report still need to be typed in manually. The transcript is presented as a single long paragraph, so deputies would need to break up the text.

“The deputy can’t just click the report and file it through the system,” Wiersberg said. “The deputy also has to verify the accuracy of the report, and then make any changes.”

“The deputy reviews it, makes any tweaks that need to be made to make it accurate. Then the supervisor will review it, and then forward it up through the chain,” he said. “It’s just basically helping save transcription work to cut to the chase.”

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The article states that:

In Maryland, multiple departments use AI or plan to in a variety of ways. Montgomery County police want to explore using AI to handle non-emergency 911 calls. Baltimore County recently drew attention for its AI-driven weapon detection system, used in public schools. Earlier this month, that system mistook a bag of chips in a student’s hand for a gun.

The reporters also explain the many concerns with the use of A.I.

“If you have a pen in your mouth, it’ll say you’re smoking,” said Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local #734 President Matthew Coster.

Id.  “Other legal experts feel there are enough safeguards to protect against issues in the police reports.”  Id.