Pinellas County Sheriff's Office rolls out AI-powered language translation on body-worn cameras

LARGO, Fla. - Pinellas County deputies have a new tool designed to break down language barriers in real time.

The agency recently rolled out an artificial intelligence upgrade to its body-worn cameras that allows the devices to automatically detect and translate 57 languages. The system translates in both directions, allowing deputies and non-English speakers to communicate more efficiently.

Language translation technology 

What they're saying:

"This is huge," Sgt. John Mullins, a traffic sergeant with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, said. "It drastically reduces the amount of time necessary to speak with non-English speakers. It reduces our necessity to depend on deputies having to either text into their cell phone using Google Translate and speaking into their phone, and then holding it back and forth with whoever they're dealing with."

To activate the feature, deputies press a button on the side of the camera twice to launch translation mode. They can also verbally instruct the camera to switch to a specific language.

"We've used it on virtually any call for service that you would expect a deputy to respond to," Mullins said.

Body camera technology expands

Dig deeper:

Deputies in the Department of Detention can also use the technology to communicate with inmates in jail. Bailiffs in the courthouses can use it to translate and talk to members of the public too.

 "It really provides a much more fluid and human-like interaction with the public," Mullins said. "It kind of immediately makes the situation a lot more comfortable."

Pinellas agency-wide rollout

The 90-day trial period for the upgrade was in November.

"Everyone that was part of the trial was overwhelmingly positive with feedback and reviews, and then at the end of the 90- day trial period we ended up rolling it agency-wide," Mullins said. "The sheriff is really big about embracing new technology to make our jobs easier."

What's next:

The body cameras are manufactured by Axon. The sheriff's office said that as the technology company adds more languages to its software, the agency will update its cameras to include them.