SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Scottsdale-based Axon is now selling an artificial intelligence product that promises to write police reports for officers based on its interpretation of what the officer's body camera records.
The company unveiled the product, called Draft One, in April. CEO Rick Smith talked more about Draft One during the May earnings call.
“Police officers did not get in this career to be writing reports," Smith said, adding that up to 40 percent of an officer's time at work is spent filling out paperwork. "This is valuable time they could be spending in their communities, with their families, in training or on their own well-being."
Axon said Draft One is based on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service platform.
According to a demonstration video, an officer's body camera uploads the recording of a service call to Axon's platform. Draft One then analyzes the recording and provides a written report of what happened, from an officer's perspective. The demo also shows the AI including prompts for an officer to expand upon the report or add details.
Those reports are still certified for truthfulness just as a handwritten report is.
However, there are critics of the idea of turning over aspects of law enforcement to AI.
“It doesn't make any sense to have a computer writing your report when things can be left out," attorney Jacquese Blackwell said.
Blackwell has represented the families of people shot by police in the past. He represented the family of Dion Johnson, who was shot and killed by a DPS trooper in 2020.
Blackwell said attorneys might use the AI's involvement to impeach the accuracy of the report in court.
"If I ask the officer, 'Well, did you write the report?' And he says, 'No, the computer wrote it,' I mean, I think the jury may laugh at that," Blackwell said.
Matthew Guariglia, a senior policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he would be concerned about the accuracy of any AI, given that some have been shown to "hallucinate" facts, or summarize events inaccurately.
“If an officer says something like, 'Drop the weapon!' does the police report say 'I said drop the weapon', or does it say 'the suspect was armed'? AI has flaws," Guariglia said. "It doesn't understand nuance. Often it doesn't understand common phrases. It doesn't understand lingo or jargon or different languages.”
But during the earnings call, Smith said Axon addressed accuracy and even bias concerns, pointing to the company's studies that show safeguards are in place.
“We've done a lot of background work with our ethics and equity advisory council as well as district attorneys and others, looking at what the risks are," Smith said. "We do make sure that we're putting speed bumps in there so officers are reviewing the final report. It's really important that it's theirs."
Up to Speed
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.
Watch 12News+ for free
You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app!
The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
12News+ showcases live video throughout the day for breaking news, local news, weather and even an occasional moment of Zen showcasing breathtaking sights from across Arizona.
Users can also watch on-demand videos of top stories, local politics, I-Team investigations, Arizona-specific features and vintage videos from the 12News archives.
Roku: Add the channel from the Roku store or by searching for "12 News KPNX."
Amazon Fire TV: Search for "12 News KPNX" to find the free 12News+ app to add to your account, or have the 12News+ app delivered directly to your Amazon Fire TV through Amazon.com or the Amazon app.