Benefits of AI in Policing

Law enforcement faces a critical choice: embrace AI and data science to improve public safety outcomes or risk saving fewer lives. Think about this: A gunshot rings out at 2:00 AM. The traditional process relies on someone hearing it, deciding to call 911, and trying to describe the location from inside their apartment without the benefit of being able to visually confirm the location. (That's assuming they call in the first place—as 80-90% of gunfire goes unreported.) Now imagine an AI-powered response with an audio-recording snippet of the incident. The digital process gives instant detection and the precise location of the gunshot. Officers can now respond minutes faster to the precise location versus driving around the neighborhood in circles. This isn’t science fiction - it's happening today. These AI-powered technologies transform police response and, as a result, save lives and capture and preserve evidence, which is critical in improving case closure rates. AI isn't replacing officers or human judgment either. AI prioritizes the effective use of limited resources where they need to be. Police departments struggling with staff shortages of 15-30% have a golden opportunity to alleviate some of this burden by leveraging AI. It's clear that AI and data science are transforming law enforcement’s ability to prevent crimes and protect communities. Be part of the solution and define the future of public safety. Give public safety leaders better tools to make faster, smarter decisions that save lives.

How about a viable AI use case that positively impacts public safety? We've recently introduced our latest Harmony AI feature, designed to automate alarm calls to 911 Centers. Here is the problem (or safety gap) it aims to solve: => Today, 20-30% of calls to 911 come from alarm companies. => 98%+ of these alarms are FALSE (not a typo). => 911 centers have staffing shortages of ~30% on average. => Alarm calls can be put on hold when shortages are severe. => These calls are projected to grow to > 50% by 2027. One could argue that the status quo isn’t sustainable. What we aim to solve: The standard operating procedures for handling alarm calls are fairly structured. To streamline this process, we leverage AI to answer these calls, gather relevant information, and then summarize and package it into a digital alert that is processed without needing 911 telecommunicator involvement. Early results are encouraging: => 50-80% of alarm calls can be processed automatically. => This means 10-24% of all calls are processed automatically. => Freeing up critical capacity for overworked and understaffed centers. => While also eliminating hold times when present. Multiple fail-safes are included to ensure the 911 telecommunicator is still in control. For example, the technology is only used on alarm calls, not 911 emergency calls. The ECC can tailor the technology to its protocols. The AI repeats information for alarm operator confirmation, and the telecommunicator can listen to recorded answers as needed. Why should you care? I believe we would rather have 911 telecommunicators focus on emergency calls from our family, friends, and colleagues than be distracted by alarm calls that are often FALSE. The safety and security technologies we rely on, personally and professionally, aren't truly 'intelligent' when identifying verified emergencies. This can lead to unintended consequences and a false sense of security. Without a better solution, the situation will only get worse in the coming years, putting more pressure on an already constrained and under-appreciated public safety network. We believe that by combining artificial and human intelligence, we make the heroes who work every day to keep us safe superheroes. The job isn’t done, as the downstream implications of false alarms on those who respond to the calls are still a problem. But one step at a time. Check out the first comment to learn more.

I keep thinking about this fantastic use for AI: Hyper is working on automating non-life-threatening 911 calls. Check this out: I did a bunch of research out of curiosity, and found some stats that should make all of us shudder: - 240 million calls are made to 911 in the U.S. each year (over 600,000 daily) - 62.6% of 911 calls in major cities are "noncriminal" situations with no clear safety concern - 70% of urban 911 calls are for non-emergency situations - Every minute of delay in emergency response has a measurable effect on mortality So when someone spends eight minutes complaining about a barking dog, the next caller, a kid whose parent just collapsed, waits longer for help. That’s unacceptable. ++++++++++ AI Voice is Getting Fantastic AI conversations are starting to feel genuinely human. (Even over the last couple of months the improvements are amazing.) Nuanced conversations, detecting emotion, responding with empathy. I think Hyper's guardrails are smart and must be SUPER strong, because this is life or death. In their approach: "if any calls fall outside the approved scope, or if one sounds slightly more emergency, we can automatically escalate those to a human expert." They err on the side of extreme caution - I mean, they better, right?? So that’s huge. ++++++++++ Avoiding Customer Service Bot Hell Nobody wants rigid "I didn't understand that, please try again" hell when calling 911. Hyper trains their models on real 911 calls with local agencies. Plus multiple languages and instant escalation to humans when needed. That's gotta be table stakes, but critical. ++++++++ Triaging 911 calls saves lives. When dispatchers aren't tied up explaining why 911 isn't for noise complaints, they answer real emergencies faster. When actual crises don't wait in queue behind non-emergencies, response times improve. 19% of calls are behavioral health situations that civilian responders already handle without police. There's clearly room for better, more appropriate responses. It's one of those AI applications that's obviously beneficial, actually saves lives. I love it. It’s going to be hard to get exactly right, but boy oh boy, I’m looking forward to this one. +++++++++ UPSKILL YOUR ORGANIZATION: When your organization is ready to create an AI-powered culture—not just add tools—AI Mindset can help. We drive behavioral transformation at scale through a powerful new digital course and enterprise partnership. DM me, or check out our website.