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March 22, 2025 Some fascinating uses of AI, Phoenix narrows its chief search, and the Met’s new data-driven strategy shows promise
PERF members, Here’s what’s been on my mind this week. Innovative uses of AI As I’ve written previously, I’ve been fascinated to learn how law enforcement agencies are using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve operations and provide better service. I read a few articles this week about innovative ways police and judicial systems are using AI. Bloomington (Minnesota) Chief Booker Hodges sent PERF an article about an AI tool his agency is using to share video messages in Spanish. Chief Hodges doesn’t speak Spanish, but he can use this tool to edit a public service announcement he recorded in English so instead of running with Spanish subtitles, it looks and sounds like he recorded the Spanish language version as well. The Arizona Supreme Court is using AI-generated avatars to summarize the court’s rulings. Using AI, the court’s communications staff can produce video summaries faster than they could on their own. “Victoria,” the Arizona’s Supreme Court’s AI reporter, summarizes a recent ruling. Source: Arizona Supreme Court on YouTube And the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia is using AI to provide recruits with more opportunities to practice their one-on-one interactions. The AI is always available to interact with recruits in different scenarios, offering the recruits more repetitions during their training. Meanwhile, though, the Utah state legislature is considering a bill requiring that officers disclose the use of AI on all reports when any part of the report was written by the technology, as well as providing a legal certification that the report has been checked for accuracy. And in Cleveland, Ohio—which has no policies governing the use of AI—police used an unreliable facial recognition system to secure a search warrant, the evidence from which has now been excluded from a murder trial. AI will be an important tool for investigations, communications, and strengthening relationships between police and all segments of the community, but departments will need to exercise caution regarding its use, especially in these early phases before the systems have been thoroughly tested and demonstrated to be accurate. Police chief search in Phoenix PERF was hired to assist Phoenix with the selection process for their next police chief, and I visited the city this week for a public forum with the four finalists. At the two-hour forum, members of the community asked the candidates a number of questions, none of which would surprise any of you. Candidates were asked about staffing; accountability; community expectations; and how they will enforce the law fairly, objectively, and without bias. Few positions receive this level of public scrutiny before they are filled Thanks to our executive search team for working closely with the city throughout this comprehensive process, and my hat’s off to all the candidates who put themselves out there to be part of this search. New data-driven strategy proving effective for the Met In what is some significant news from England, the (London) Metropolitan Police reported a major milestone in a new strategy using data analysis to identify some of the country’s worst offenders. To date, the V100 Programme has led to the convictions of more than 100 men identified as most likely to commit acts of harm against women. Under the strategy, suspects are identified from existing victim reports. The names of these individuals are then entered into a tool called the Cambridge Crime Harm Index, which “measures the seriousness of crime harm to victims” and calculates the disparate impacts of various crimes. According to the BBC, “Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ben Russell said each suspect's risk was calculated by looking at what sentence they would expect to be given for each allegation, if they were convicted as a first-time offender, and then adding up the total.” These totals are then ranked, and priority is placed on pursuing the highest-ranking offenders. This is an interesting strategy, and I’m glad the Met is seeing it prove effective. Former Secret Service Agent Larry Buendorf passes away Larry Buendorf, the Secret Service agent who saved President Gerald Ford’s life in 1975 when he confronted Squeaky Fromme and wrestled a pistol from the would-be assassin, passed away last week. He was 87. Buendorf’s actions add to the long history of brave individuals sworn to protect presidents. Earlier this month, I wrote about the death of former Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who passed away in February at the age of 93. Hill was on duty in Dallas the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and he notably jumped aboard the president’s car and helped protect the first lady from gunfire. Hill’s death reminded me of the brave actions of another Secret Service agent, Tim McCarthy, who was wounded while shielding President Ronald Reagan from an assassination attempt in 1981. You can read my full interview with McCarthy to hear more about his actions that day. Notably, Buendorf and McCarthy both recalled not wearing bulletproof vests at the time they encountered the attempted assassins. But as a former head of the Secret Service once told me, just signing up for the Service is an act of courage. City Journal podcast with three prominent criminologists The City Journal recently produced a podcast with three well-respected criminologists—the University of Pennsylvania’s Anthony Braga and John MacDonald and George Mason University’s David Weisburd¾presenting nuanced views on how ideological bias may be influencing the criminology field. They are leaders in the criminology field, and I think their perspective is valuable. New PERF meeting space We just opened a new meeting space at the PERF office that can host gatherings of up to 60 people. Our plan is to hold more of our meetings in our office instead of using nearby hotels. I want to use the new meeting space to increase communication locally here in Washington, as well as take advantage of state-of-the-art technology to reach our members. I hope to see many of you in our new meeting space in the near future! PERF’s new meeting space Have a wonderful weekend! Best, Chuck |
