New Haven police to implement AI in proposed tech contract upgrade

Ariela Lopez

12:12 am, Dec 02, 2024

Staff Reporter

Garrett Curtis, Contributing Photographer

The New Haven Police Department is looking to introduce artificial intelligence-written police reports, according to a proposed agreement unanimously approved by the Board of Alders’ public safety committee two weeks ago.

The department hopes to purchase the AI report technology, alongside more body cameras, as part of a $7.6 million contract with Axon. The contract will last just over five years and will equip the department with hundreds of new dashboard and body cameras, upgraded tasers and a range of software including audio and video transcription, video playback, virtual reality training products and Draft One — the police technology company’s artificial intelligence system designed to cut back on the time it takes an officer to write a report.

“This technology will save officers multiple hours every week by automatically drafting police report narratives based on body-worn camera audio,” New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson wrote in his cover letter to the Board of Alders.

At the Public Safety committee hearing, Jacobson estimated that officers spend over two hours writing reports per eight-hour shift, which Draft One technology could reduce by 65 percent, the New Haven Independent reported. Axon advertisements estimate that officers spend “up to 40 percent” of their time writing reports. 

To begin implementing the AI technology, a small group of officers would use Draft One to generate reports from audio captured on body cameras, certifying each fact in the report. The program would first be implemented on reports for stolen cars or damaged property before being tried on reports for arrests. After three to six months, the department will compare the AI-generated reports with officer-written ones to analyze the program.

Jacobson told the public safety committee that the contract would include a “failsafe” provision for a refund in case the Draft One technology does not work.

Alder Brian Wingate, who chairs the committee, told the News that the November hearing was not the first time he heard of Draft One — he happened to sit with Axon’s sales representative at the National League of Cities summit in Tampa, Florida, earlier that month.

“It is AI, and we did have some concerns about it, but I think it’s worth a trial run,” Wingate said.

Wingate added that he asked Jacobson to update the committee on how the system was functioning after six months. 

Since Axon unveiled Draft One in April, dozens of officers in departments across the country have begun to incorporate AI, leading legal experts to emphasize the need to ensure accuracy and accountability for computer-generated reports on par with those for officer-written reports. Though a prosecutor in Washington State reportedly advised local law enforcement agencies that his office would not accept AI-generated reports, Jacobson told the New Haven Independent that he has been working with State Attorney John Doyle to devise a system to ensure the Draft One reports will be admissible in court.

The New Haven Police Department’s last contract with Axon, signed in 2021, was intended to last exactly five years and cost $5.7 million, according to legislative records. The Board of Alders will read the new contract proposal at its upcoming meeting. If approved by the board, the contract will last from April 2025 through June 2030.

Axon, formerly called Taser International, is based in Scottsdale, Arizona.