ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q1-2025

Continued from "Maximum Benefit", on page 26

scene. Plus, the officer only hears the background information after it has passed through the call taker to the dispatcher, leav ing room for details from the initial call to get lost. AI-powered software can help augment the dispatch pro cess by giving dispatchers real-time recommendations on which officers to send based on their precise locations. It will prove a critical tool in supporting staff. Transmitting 911 calls live means officers hear directly from the caller for maximum situational awareness and less ambiguity. FACTORS TO CONSIDER FOR DEPLOYMENT: TRAINING, GUIDELINES, AND PARTNERSHIPS The transition to AI-enabled workflows won’t happen over night for law enforcement, but the need for greater efficiency amid the labor shortage will definitely speed up the process. The nature of law enforcement means there are often additional security, permissions, and compliance considerations before implementing new tools. Departments ready to begin implementing AI tools will need to deploy those solutions alongside appropriate guidelines and employee training. The role of AI applications is to support, supplement, or augment – not replace the work of humans. Agencies will achieve the best results when AI tools support officers and free them to focus on more strategic or high-touch tasks. Implementing training to help officers understand the im portance of carefully reviewing AI outputs and developing strong risk mitigation protocols are essential for deployment. In addition to establishing proper guidelines for AI usage, agencies will need to supply officers with reliable mobile com puting devices — at the edge — where they can access these ap plications. These devices should be durable enough to withstand the rigors of the job so officers always have access to the ap plications and insights they need. A modular design also ensures the department can update components as needs dictate, or as familiarity with AI is established. This is the industry’s answer to moving with speed. Worth noting is that many AI applications which aim to boost officer efficiency require the right level of computing and processing power to function effectively. The ideal scenario is a balance between computing performance, reliability and longevity in the field. From an AI perspective, the latest proces sors along with CPU, GPU, and NPU advancements ensure fast performance for AI-powered applications. For instance, the latest ‘AI-ready’ updates Panasonic Connect made to the TOUGHBOOK 40 include new processors that deliver up to 143 percent faster AI application performance and 73 percent faster generative AI all while consuming 40 percent less processor power for AI enhanced collaboration, compared to previous processors. 1 Finding a technology partner who can offer hardware, softw are and services support helps ensure an effective roll-out where officers can focus on getting the most out of their AI tools. LOOKING AHEAD TO THE NEW YEAR 2025 will be an exciting year to watch as more law en forcement agencies implement AI-driven workflows. Collabo rating with other departments to set appropriate guidelines and partnering with technology companies for hardware, software and services support will help staff achieve the most from AI investments. continued on page 29

consolidate data and deliver faster insights so crime analysis teams can focus on implementing new strategies or making data-backed decisions. Amid current staffing shortages, any technologies that help departments be proactive instead of reac tive will be critical to boosting efficiency and supporting more effective responses. Data management applications powered by AI will also benefit officers on the road. While the department may have data on building layouts and previous crimes that took place in a particular location, officers don’t always have time to review and interpret this information on their way to the call. When AI-based software solutions consolidate all of this data and present the findings via a vehicle-docked laptop or tablet, officers enhance their situational awareness and enter the scene better prepared. ADVANCING CONNECTED VEHICLE CAPABILITIES ON THE ROAD AI will transform connected vehicle capabilities, resulting in streamlined vehicle maintenance, faster response times, and fewer collisions. Software platforms, powered by AI, can monitor the status of vehicles to predict the need for maintenance before minor issues exacerbate and result in significant downtime. This way, officers won’t need to keep paper logs to remind them of the next oil change. Instead, central command gains a seamless view into the status of vehicles across the department’s fleet. Officers don’t even need to think about vehicle maintenance, freeing them to focus on high-level tasks. AI can also facilitate more intuitive signaling and traffic management on the roads by enabling vehicles and smart street signals to communicate with one another. AI deployed alongside smart pre-emption systems could integrate emergency vehicle preemption (EVP) capabilities with departments’ dispatch sys tems. This could automatically provide traffic light preemption based on the severity of the call to help officers arrive faster. The same intuitiveness applies to connected vehicle technology as vehicle-to-vehicle communication improves. For instance, if one car experiences an issue that requires it to slow down, it could tell the cars behind it to decelerate, preventing a traffic back-up. Similarly, departments can review vehicle data during a winter storm to identify where cars are skidding and deploy additional plows and salt trucks to those areas. Reducing the likelihood of collisions means the community enjoys safer roads overall and officers save time responding to fewer unexpected calls. ACHIEVING ENHANCED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR MORE EFFECTIVE RESPONSES One of the most significant side effects of law enforcement staffing shortages is longer response times. Nearly half of police officers say their response time to high-priority calls has in creased due to limited staff. AI paired with the ability to transmit 911 calls has the potential to streamline the triage process, so officers arrive at calls faster and better prepared. The current multi-step triage process creates a significant delay between when the caller reports an incident to when the designated officers can begin making their way to the scene. Specifically, the call taker must transcribe the incident into a computer program before the dispatcher can read the descrip tion and determine which officers are free and closest to the

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