Police reports written by artificial intelligence will still be certified line by line by New Haven Police Department officers.
Ariela Lopez
Staff reporter
Garrett Curtis, contributing photographer
New Haven Police Department plans to introduce police reports written by artificial intelligence, according to proposed agreement unanimously approved by the Board of Aldermen’s Public Safety Committee two weeks ago.
The department hopes to purchase AI reporting technology, as well as more body cameras, in a $7.6 million contract with Axon. The contract will last just over five years and equip the department with hundreds of new dash and body cameras, upgraded Tasers and a range of software including audio and video transcription, video playback, training products in virtual reality and Draft One, the police technology company. artificial intelligence system designed to reduce the time it takes for an officer to write a report.
“This technology will save officers several hours each week by automatically writing police reports based on audio from a body-worn camera,” New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson wrote in his letter support to the Council of Alders.
At the public safety committee hearing, Jacobson estimated that officers spend more than two hours writing reports per eight-hour shift, which Draft One technology could reduce by 65 percent, the New reported Haven Independent. Axone Advertisements estimate that agents spend “up to 40%” of their time writing reports.
To begin implementing the AI technology, a small group of officers would use Draft One to generate reports from audio recordings captured by body cameras, certifying each fact contained in the report. The program would first be implemented on reports of stolen cars or damaged property before being judged on arrest reports. After three to six months, the department will compare the reports generated by the AI with those written by the agents to analyze the program.
Jacobson told the public safety committee that the contract would include a “failsafe” provision for reimbursement in case the Draft One technology does not work.
Elder Brian Wingate, who chairs the committee, told the News that the November hearing wasn’t the first time he heard about Draft One — he ended up with Axon’s sales representative at the National League of Cities summit in Tampa, Florida, earlier that month. .
“It’s about AI, and we had some concerns about it, but I think it’s worth a try,” Wingate said.
Wingate added that he asked Jacobson to brief the committee on how the system was working after six months.
Since Axon unveiled the first version in April, dozens of officers in departments across the country have begun integrating AI, leading legal experts to emphasize the need to ensure the accuracy and accountability of computer-generated reports is at the same level as that of agent-written reports. Although a Washington state prosecutor would have informed local law enforcement agencies that his office would not accept AI-generated reports, Jacobson told the New Haven Independent that he worked with State Attorney John Doyle to design a system to ensure that Draft One reports would be admissible in court.
The New Haven Police Department’s latest contract with Axon, signed in 2021, was scheduled to last exactly five years and cost $5.7 million, according to legislative documents. The Board of Aldermen will read the new contract proposal at its next meeting. If approved by the board, the contract will last from April 2025 to June 2030.
Axon, formerly Taser International, is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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