By Steve Seoane
Imagine a major city hosting a large-scale event with thousands of attendees, multiple venues and the inherent risk of security threats. Previously, managing such an event relied heavily on personnel and reactive measures. Now, AI-powered systems can analyze real-time data feeds from across the city — social media, traffic cameras, body-worn camera live feeds and even weather reports — to help identify potential risks and proactively deploy resources.
This is the power of AI in public safety, and it isn’t science fiction; it’s happening now. Forward-thinking police departments and law enforcement agencies are using AI to enhance situational awareness, improve proactive policing and streamline operations. Here are a few ways police departments are exploring and deploying AI.
Laying the groundwork for AI success
With a strong foundation in place, agencies can begin unlocking the real benefits of AI in their daily operations. Successful AI implementations require a robust foundation built on security, data integration and interagency collaboration. Protecting sensitive information is paramount, which necessitates strong security measures, including encryption, access controls, regular audits and consistent data hygiene practices. Furthermore, strong data governance policies and procedures help maintain data quality over time, ensuring the data feeding AI systems is reliable and accurate.
Beyond data security, effective AI relies on seamless integration with existing infrastructure. This includes compatibility with critical systems like CAD, RMS and other essential platforms. Cloud-based solutions provide the scalability and flexibility needed to adapt to evolving needs and connect disparate data sources, creating a unified data environment. Prioritizing integration capabilities and long-term scalability is key to a successful and sustainable implementation.
Finally, maximizing the impact of AI hinges on the seamless sharing of insights, often in real-time, between agencies. By establishing secure data-sharing agreements and adopting standardized data formats, agencies can enable real-time information exchange and collaborative analysis. This fosters a culture of cooperation and shared insights, ultimately amplifying the effectiveness of AI across the board.
Practical applications of AI
AI offers a range of practical applications for enhancing public safety:
- Enhanced situational awareness: Agencies can integrate data from diverse sources — 911 calls, body cameras, social media, traffic cameras, sensor networks and more — to create a comprehensive, real-time view of unfolding events. AI-powered analytics can identify anomalies, alert officers to potential threats, and improve response coordination.
- Resource optimization: AI algorithms can analyze historical event data, identify patterns and help pre-position emergency response assets. This proactive deployment of resources to high-risk areas optimizes resource allocation based on real-time needs and predicted demand, improving efficiency and response times.
- Streamlining investigations and administrative tasks: AI can automate time-consuming tasks, freeing officers to focus more time on community engagement and proactive policing. For example, systems can combine structured data from systems of record like CAD and RMS, with the video and audio collected from body-worn cameras, vehicle video and fixed video cameras during an event, to create an AI-generated first draft of a narrative. The officer can then read the draft, edit the information, if necessary, add details and submit the report.
- Improving officer safety and training: AI can analyze bodycam footage and other data to identify trends in officer interactions, providing insights for improved training and de-escalation techniques. Real-time alerts based on sensor data and predictive analytics can warn officers of potential dangers and allow for a blended team approach to incidents as they evolve.
The future of public safety
Using technology to enhance public safety isn’t new: agencies have applied data to fight crime for generations. However, AI does provide a new level of technology maturity and power, with a greater ability to transform public safety. By focusing on practical applications, addressing key challenges and choosing the right partners, police departments can leverage AI to help build safer, more resilient communities.
It has never been more important or more impactful for public safety agencies to leverage technology than it is now in a world of increasing citizen expectations, flat to down funding and an environment that has never been more challenging.
About the author
Steve Seoane is Senior Vice President and GM for Oracle Local Government.