Sacramento Report: AI-Generated Police Reports Are Having a Moment

This week, I wanted to take a closer look at the use of artificial intelligence in law enforcement agencies after Chula Vista last month gave its police department the go-ahead to use the technology.

The rundown: City officials unanimously approved buying AI software from Axon, a technology company that sells Tasers, drones and other equipment to police departments across the country. The city plans to spend $1 million over four years for Axon’s products, including a controversial AI application that writes police reports.

The software, called Draft One, writes reports for officers by transcribing live body-cam footage in real time. Axon, which launched the product last year, says on its website it uses a modified version of ChatGPT.

Why It Matters

Police reports document officers’ encounters with the public by describing in detail what happened. They can be used in criminal cases trials to establish basic facts and inform juries, judges and attorneys.

A small but growing number of departments across the country have begun testing this kind of software.

In California, police departments in Fresno and Campbell are using Draft One, according to company spokesperson Kristin Lowman.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said the technology could help the city solve crimes and react to emergencies.

“I believe that technology will continue to play a key role in making sure that we can hit the marks that we need to have the response times we need to with the limitation of the officers that we have,” Gloria said at a Politifest panel this month. 

What Supporters Are Saying

Police departments largely support adopting AI in their workflow.

Chula Vista Police Chief Roxana Kennedy has said it can take as many as three hours each shift for officers to complete their reports and that the AI tools will save time and allow them to do more meaningful work. Kennedy also told Voice of San Diego that a small group of officers began using the AI tools earlier this year and the rest of the department will start using them this year.

What Critics Are Saying

Civil rights groups fear that AI-generated reports will include “hallucinations,” or artificial intelligence-produced false information, in documents that can be used to determine peoples’  freedoms and fair prosecution.

The American Civil Liberties Union is worried about ChatGPT creating unpredictable errors and its potential to exhibit racial and gender biases. Criminal justice advocates have also questioned law enforcement’s ability to fact-check AI-generated reports.

Axon’s Safety Guardrails

Officers are able to edit drafts throughout the transcription process and the reports can’t be completed without an officer’s review and approval, according to Axon’s website, and that it has programmed its software “to prevent speculation or embellishments” and requires officers to add any missing information before reports can be submitted.

The State of AI Regulation in Police Departments

California became one of the first states to regulate AI-generated police reports when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 524 last week. The law by Sen. Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley requires agencies to disclose if AI was used to write a report. It also mandates that departments keep original body-cam footage and audio for future audits, and prohibits tech companies from selling or sharing any data that’s collected. 

The law doesn’t ban or give further guidance on how AI should be used within law enforcement agencies.

Some attorneys have been worried about its use and have pushed for more transparency from police departments. 

A spokesperson for San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan told Voice that San Diego prosecutors currently do not have a policy about police agencies using AI to transcribe video from police officer body-worn cameras. 

“We will continue to evaluate cases submitted to us for prosecution based upon the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and we expect police departments to submit accurate police reports,” Stephan said.

“As pilot programs expand across police departments, public defenders do not know whether reports are being generated by AI,” Margo Geoge, an Alameda public defender said at a committee hearing earlier this year.

The California Police Chiefs Association, an advocacy group, initially opposed the legislation over concerns that it would increase officers’ administrative workload. The group later moved to neutral after changes were made to more narrowly define AI and only require disclosures for officers’ final reports.

“We must strike a balance to welcome these rapid advancements and benefits while installing guardrails to hold this new technology accountable,” Arreguín said in a statement.

Still, a Mother Jones investigation found that some  agencies have opted to turn off AI safety software protections. Some officials at the Lafayette Police Department in Indiana had turned off Draft One safety features that required human input to correct mistakes and they opted out of an AI-disclosure feature, the outlet reported.

In Alaska, the Anchorage Police Department decided not to adopt the software after a three-month pilot program because it didn’t save much time, according to local media. Relatedly, a 2024 study from researchers at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University found that Axon’s transcription service did not affect officers’ efficiency.

Utah enacted a similar law to California’s earlier this year, the only other state to do so. That law goes a step further, requiring agencies to create internal AI policies outlining where and when the technology is allowed.

What I’m Reading Now

• KPBS reports that National City continues to fall short of its affordable housing goals after a new report released this week.
• The San Diego Union-Tribune’s take on the vacation home tax showdown, where a potential ballot measure asks residents with vacation rentals or empty second homes to pay $5,000 per bedroom.
• He tracked and posted videos of ICE raids in L.A. Now this TikTok streamer is in federal custody, from the Los Angeles Times.

Thanks again for reading the Sacramento Report! If you have any tips or story ideas for my newsletter, please give me a shout: nadia@voiceofsandiego.org.

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