Law enforcement agencies are using artificial intelligence to analyze body camera video in an effort to improve trust and transparency in communities nationwide.
Truleo automatically detects critical situations from body camera footage that involves use-of-force, pursuits and frisking. The A.I. platform also screens for both professional and unprofessional language.
This automated analysis is readily available to supervisors within minutes so they can evaluate officers’ conduct.
One officer with nearly two decades of experience told Fox News, “It protects everyone involved and it just helps the department as far as stopping a problem before it becomes an issue.”
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Numerous law enforcement agencies transcribe their body camera videos, but less than 1% of the videos are ever reviewed, according to Truleo’s CEO and co-founder Anthony Tassone. His company aims to fix that problem with A.I. that is designed to analyze those videos in just minutes.
Tassone believes his A.I. could have alerted police supervisors to patterns of behavior that needed correction among the officers involved in the fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols.
“Truleo would prevent something like that from happening because it would give instant visibility into the videos and the command staff in Memphis would have the data that would alert them to a deterioration of professionalism,” Tassone told Fox News.
Truleo has partnered with 20 police departments in the U.S., including the Anaheim Police Department in California and the Aurora Police Department in Colorado. The company aims to secure contracts with at least 10 to 15 more police departments by 2024.
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Chief Bill Partridge, of Oxford police in Alabama, has used the technology for three years. He says it ensures officers in his department are acting appropriately and helping the public.
“We have to hold our officers accountable and make sure they’re providing a service to our citizens in a professional manner,” he said.
The Seattle Police Department recently ended a pilot project using the technology because of reactions to reports on it.
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Meanwhile, critics have raised concerns about the A.I. platform’s transparency and oversight. The American Civil Liberties Union told Fox News in part, “A.I. systems are no substitute for community review of officer behavior that is captured by body cameras.”
Tassone responded to those concerns by saying, “Our A.I. is a tool, that does not replace human review, but rather makes human review faster, and more efficient, enabling them to scan thousands of videos at once.”
According to company data, one police department using Truleo saw a 36% decrease in the use-of-force. The data also showed that 99% of police interactions in that department met or exceeded professional standards.
Truleo’s prices range from $10,000 to $250,000 a year. The costs are based on the size of the law enforcement agency or police department using the technology.
An average-sized police department of 100 officers can expect to pay $50,000 a year for the program.
