Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the Future of Policing Institute fellows are theirs and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.
The battle against misinformation and disinformation campaigns: Is your police department prepared?
Artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced social media platforms have significantly amplified the spread of misinformation and disinformation, posing critical challenges for police agencies. Misinformation and disinformation are increasingly weaponized, often by state-sponsored actors, leading to public unrest that demands police intervention. The police must act proactively to counter this.
Practical Uses of AI in Policing
There are many promises and speculations about what artificial intelligence (AI) can do for policing. Here, we’ll cut through the hype and focus on three actionable use cases where AI can make a real difference. Some uses of AI in policing include: 1. Enhancing Training Programs through AI-Powered Training Materials; 2. Automating Content Creation; 3. Improving Internal Transparency and Searching Capabilities; and, 4. Enhancing Problem-Solving Capabilities.
Local government can empower citizen preparedness and self-reliance through the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS)
Local government can help its community members prepare to help themselves during natural disasters by creating the infrastructure for a community-wide GMRS radio system.
AI’s Role in Law Enforcement: Enhancing Dispatcher Training with Voice-Enabled Technology
The future of police communications, and the integration of artificial intelligence in dispatcher training, is becoming more apparent.
Why Police Academy Directors should focus on Five Simple Questions?
Today, we need cops whose core competencies are consistent with organizational values and contemporary views of the true purpose of policing. The formal training of these officers begins in police academies. There are five basic questions each academy director should be asking themselves as they reflect on the nature of the training they are providing.
Teaching Police Departments
What if we could displace the concept of a teaching hospital to policing? Police agencies as learning organizations is largely a function of leadership vision. Using the “displacement of concept” advances policing in ways we can only imagine now.
Is Community-led Policing in our Future?
In the future-leaning concept of community-led policing, there is no need for civilian oversight of the police, as the community and the police share responsibility for the regular decision-making process regarding crime control on the strategic level, as well as the joint examination of those things for which civilian oversight is regularly sought - citizen complaints and questionable uses of force.
Developing Future Capacity for Police Research and Development
With the changing and evolving reality within policing, it is obvious that there is a need for robust research and development capacity with police agencies
Navigating our Policing Careers: Mentorship and the Path to Wisdom
Being a police officer is about more than just making arrests – it's about making a positive impact, one informed decision at a time. And that comes through experience, which perhaps is the greatest lesson of all as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of policing, preparing ourselves for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
Training Your Nervous System: A Game-Changer for Life
We put so much effort into prepping our bodies for endurance feats, but our nervous system? Not so much. This is especially true for first responders. Well, it’s high time we treat our inner wiring like the star of the show if we want to shape our lives into the spectacular experiences we crave. If we hope to realize our preferred futures, whether that be personal or professional, the first thing we must do is attend to our own wellness. Our physical health begins with ensuring our mental health is where we want it to be – now, and in the future.
The Role of Martial Arts Training for Police Officers
In the future, cops will probably have access to tools that incapacitate resisting arrestees without hurting them. But those tools don’t exist today, and we are forced, as a first level use-of-force, to resort to putting our hands on them to try and restrain them. The extent to which officers are proficient in the use of “hands-on” techniques directly relates to the reduction of injuries to arrested persons. This is where martial arts-centered defensive tactics comes into play.
So, how may cops do you need and where do you need them?
Efficient and effective police officer staffing and scheduling should avoid speculation and assumptions about critical issues like personnel deployment. This will be critical in the future as police agencies are increasingly asked to justify budgetary requests and there is community pressure to not over or under police the people the police are sworn to protect.
Are you a police chief or a firefighter?
If you spend most of your day putting out spot fires, you are not setting the course for your agency – here’s how to balance crisis management with long-term planning.
The Utility and Challenge of AI and Police Report Writing
Cops all across America are using AI to help them write their reports. Of this, we have no doubt. And it’s completely understandable. However, there a multiple implications for cops’ use of AI that police leaders must consider. Learning about AI, understanding its pros and cons, and implementing responsible policies and practices is how policing will realize the full potential of AI while also becoming more effective, empathetic and just.
Policing the Public Square in the Digital Age: More Than Just Crowd Control
The complexities of public order policing in the digital age present a wide breadth of challenges to police agencies, regardless of size or region of the country. Social media and widespread information sharing pose both new opportunities and challenges for the police. The information landscape has fundamentally changed how protests unfold and how authorities need to respond.
AI Generated Identity: A New Challenge for Policing
Artificial intelligence (AI) has enabled the creation of realistic and convincing synthetic identities, such as faces, names, addresses, and biographical details, that can be used for various purposes, such as online fraud, identity theft, cybercrime, and social engineering. This article provides an overview of the phenomenon of AI generated identity, its potential impacts on crime and security, and the strategies policing needs to implement to prepare for these types of investigations.
A Model Policy for Policing’s use of Generative AI
Policing organizations will be well-served by adopting a policy on the use of Generative AI tools like ChatGPT to ensure the responsible use of AI. This model policy provides a starting place for that adoption.
Why investigative excellence matters – now and in the future
The investigation of crime is an important part of policing. But it’s not just “investigating” that matters. It’s excellent investigations that solve crime, enhance public safety and increase the public’s trust and confidence in the police. In addition, it is excellent investigative work that reduces the incidence of wrongful arrest and convictions. And that’s what the people the police are paid to protect have every right to expect from them.
Spiderwebs: A Future Tool for Crime Scene Forensics
Researchers studying ways to protect our environment have discovered the use of spiderwebs to collect environmental DNA to help them identify animals and organisms that have previously been at the places they are studying. Can this methodology for collecting DNA be displaced to forensic crime scene investigations?
The Benefits of Using AI in Municipal Government: A Use Case Overview
Integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) within municipal government operations can significantly enhance efficiency, reduce losses, and improve overall safety for employees and the public.